My best friend's sister
by skullprincess120
Summary: Troy Bolton's best friend is Max Montez. Max Montez is Gabriella Montez's twin brother. Troy falls in love with Gabriella and Gabriella falls in love with Troy. They try to hide their relationship from Max. Read to find out the rest...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is part of the apology for not updating in a long long time. I began a new story. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

Troy Bolton entered his homeroom class and scanned the room. He found a certain brunette that he was madly in love with and his face broke into a smile.

Gabriella Montez looked up and saw her twin brother, Max's best friend, Troy smiling at her. She could have sworn that her heart stopped beating for a minute when their eyes met. She smiled shyly and Troy quickly dropped his gaze.

"Troy!" his best friend, Max said snapping his fingers in front of Troy's eyes. "Which world are you in, man?"

"Sorry," Troy muttered. He could feel Gabriella's gaze on him and his cheeks grew hot. "What's up?"

"I'm skipping the homecoming dance," Max announced.

"What?" Troy asked. "You can't skip the dance, dude!"

"You're skipping the dance?" Gabriella asked walking over to them. "Why?"

"I don't have a date," Max muttered.

"_You_ don't have a date?" Gabriella asked. "Since when did that start happening? You're like one of the most popular guys in school. You're number one on some girls' list. Troy is on the other girls' list. How can you not find a date?"

"This time I can't!" Max said.

"Wait," Troy said. "What list is this?"

"Almost every girl in East High has a list," Gabriella explained. "They write the guys they think are the hottest on theirs."

"And, Max is on top of some lists?" Troy asked.

"Yup," Gabriella said. "And, it annoys the hell out of me when girls come and beg me to ask you out for them."

Max chuckled and Gabriella smacked his arm.

"It's not funny," Gabriella scolded him as Troy sat on the table in front of Max's.

"Who's on top of your list?" Max asked.

"I…uh…err…" Gabriella glanced at Troy and his eyebrow shot up.

"I'm on the top of your list?" Troy asked his eyes wide. A smirk appeared on his face.

"I don't have a list," Gabriella said, quickly. "They're lame."

"Wait a second, Max," Troy said. "You're not the only guy who's having problems with the whole date thing."

"You can always take Gabi to the dance if you don't have a date," Max said.

"Excuse me?" Gabriella asked.

"You wouldn't mind?" Troy asked.

"Why would I mind?" Max asked. "It's not a real date."

"Hello?" Gabriella said. "I'm right here. Did it occur to you that I might already have a date?"

"You do?" Troy asked his heart falling.

"Um…no," Gabriella admitted. "But, I might!"

"You're right," Troy said. "Sorry."

"But, if we're both dateless by Saturday night, then, we'll go together," Gabriella smiled.

"Okay," Troy nodded as Ms. Darbus, their homeroom teacher walked into the classroom.

Troy slid onto his seat and turned to face their teacher. Ms. Darbus had not said a word when the principal, Mr. Matsui hurried into the room.

"Max and Gabriella Montez?" he said, sharply and the two siblings stood up. "Come with me."

Not soon after Mr. Matsui left, Jack Bolton, the coach of the East High's basketball team and Troy's dad, walked into the room.

"Really, Bolton!" Ms. Darbus exclaimed. "I cannot have you walking into my classroom like that."

"But, aren't I supposed to be here, Ms. Darbus?" Troy asked, cheekily.

"That would cost detention for you, young man!" Ms. Darbus snapped.

"Darbus," Jack snapped. "I need Troy."

"He's in class," Ms. Darbus said.

"Darbus, you don't understand," Jack said urgently. "Max and Gabriella need him right now."

"What for?" Ms. Darbus asked.

"For him to be there as a friend," Jack said. "Can't we talk about this later, Darbus? This is important."

"Dad, what happened?" Troy asked.

"Maria Montez is dead," Jack said, quietly.

"What?" Troy froze as the rest of the class gasped.

"She was in a car accident," Jack explained.

"That's their mother, right?" Ms. Darbus said and Jack nodded. "And, they don't have a father, either?"

"He passed away when Max and Gabriella were thirteen," Jack said.

"Where are they?" Troy asked suddenly.

"Matsui's office," Jack said.

Troy took off down the hallway without a word. He could not believe it. He had always turned to Maria for any motherly advice he needed since his own mother passed away a year ago. He ran down the stairs and caught sight of Mr. Matsui's office. He slowed down to catch his breath wondering what he was going to say when the door burst open.

Gabriella ran out of the office. Troy dropped his bag onto the floor and caught her as she tried to run past him. Several teachers ran out and stopped when they saw that Troy had caught her.

"Gabriella!" someone called and Max rushed out of the office.

"No, Troy!" she shrieked hitting him. "Let me go."

Troy ignored her and held her tightly as she continued to struggle and hit him.

"Brie," he whispered softly. "It's okay. She'll be watching over you."

"She shouldn't have left me!" Gabriella cried hitting his chest hard with her fists. "She should stay with me. She was all I had, Troy. I've got no one, now."

"Brie," Troy said a bit sharply and she turned her head to look at him. "Don't ever say or even think that you have no one. Max and I are right here with you. We won't leave you. We'll never leave you."

Gabriella stared at him. She tried to wipe away the tears which kept on falling.

"It's okay to cry, Brie," Troy said, softly.

That was all it took. All her emotions flowed out and she started shaking. Troy hugged her tightly and she held onto him as she cried. Troy kissed her head gently and just held her close to him avoiding the eye of every teacher who stood their staring at them. Jack arrived and quietly whispered something to the teachers and they turned away awkwardly. Max walked over to Troy and Gabriella.

"Hey, Gabi," Max said softly. "Come here."

Max held his arms out for his sister and Gabriella pulled away from Troy and hugged Max tightly. Troy walked away to give the siblings some time alone. He walked over to his father. Jack was quiet, too. He treated Max and Gabriella as if they were his own children and it killed him to see them so upset, especially Gabriella looking so helpless.

"Take them to the hospital," Jack said. "They would want to see her. But, stay with them. Especially Gabriella – she was very close to her mother, closer than you know, Troy."

"Believe me, dad," Troy said. "I know how close they were."

Jack gave his son a hug and then Troy went back to Max and Gabriella.

"We're going to the hospital," Max said. "Can I borrow your car? We took the bus today."

"I'll drive you two to the hospital," Troy offered.

"Troy, it's okay," Max said.

"I'm driving and you two aren't going to argue," Troy said. "You two were there for me when my mom died last year and now it's my turn."

"Thanks, man," Max smiled giving Troy a brotherly hug.

Troy smiled a bit and the three headed out of the school. Gabriella stood in the middle of the two guys. Max had his arm around Gabriella's shoulders and Troy's was on her waist.

They arrived at the hospital. Gabriella did not say a word on the way to the hospital. Max was quiet, too, but, he spoke when Troy spoke to him.

"Um…you guys stay here," Troy said as they stood at the doorway. "I'll go and see where she is."

Max just nodded and Gabriella glanced at him for a second before looking away again. Troy hurried towards the counter.

"Excuse me," he said and the nurse there looked up and smiled at him.

"Can I help you?" she asked winking at him smiling a flirty smile.

"Where can I find Maria Montez?" Troy asked ignoring the flirting.

"I'm sorry, but, I can't give that information to you," the nurse said.

"Why not?" Troy asked.

"No one's allowed to see her," the nurse said.

"You don't get it, dude," Troy said his temper rising. "Her children are here."

"I'm not a dude," the nurse frowned.

"Whatever," Troy rolled his eyes. "Where can I find Maria Montez? Her children are here to see her."

"I won't tell you unless you apologize for calling me a dude," the nurse said.

"Oh, shut the fuck up!" Troy yelled. "I'm not going to ask again. Where is Maria Montez?"

"You just asked again," the nurse smirked.

Troy took a deep breath trying to calm down. He looked around trying to find another nurse and spotted Dr. Brandon, the doctor who cared for his mother while she was in the hospital with leukemia.

"Dr. B!" he yelled.

"Wait," the nurse said, hurriedly. "I can tell you where Maria Montez is. He'll be mad if he finds out that I didn't tell you."

"Your problem, not mine," Troy glared at her. "Dr. B!"

Dr. Brandon turned around. He smiled warmly at Troy as he walked over to him.

"What are you doing here, Troy?" he asked.

"Max and Gabriella Montez are here to see their mother," Troy explained. "I don't know where she is."

"Why didn't you tell him where she is?" Dr. Brandon asked the nurse.

"I was told not to," the nurse replied.

"But, if her children are here to see her, you have to tell them," Dr. Brandon said.

"I didn't know," the nurse said.

"Come on, Troy," Dr. Brandon said. "Where are Max and Gabriella?"

Troy turned and gestured towards Max to come over and he came with Gabriella.

"I'm very sorry," Dr. Brandon said. "We tried everything. All the head doctors of the hospital were attending to her, but, it wasn't enough."

"Thank you," Max nodded. "But, we would just like to see her."

Dr. Brandon led them to a room. Troy stayed outside, but, Max pulled him in. the three teenagers froze at the sight of Maria Montez. Her features were unrecognizable. Troy felt something sharp on his arm and looked down to see Gabriella clutching his arm. Her finger nails were digging into his arms and her knuckles were white.

All of a sudden, Gabriella fell onto her knees crying. Within a second, Troy was hugging her. Max stood there, staring at his lifeless mother.

"Let's go," Max said, suddenly. He could not bear to look at his mother anymore.

Troy nodded and stood up pulling Gabriella to her feet with him. Max headed towards the door, but, Gabriella could not move.

"Come on, Brie," Troy said, softly.

Gabriella shook her head.

"Come on," Troy said. "I'll give you a piggy back ride like I used to when we were little."

Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and her legs around his waist.

"I won't jump into the swimming pool this time," Troy promised her.

Gabriella giggled as she remembered the time when Troy had jumped into the swimming pool when there were fourteen.

Troy carried her out to his car with Max next to him. Gabriella got into the car.

"Max," Troy said just as Max was about to get into the car. "Are you okay?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Max said and got into the car.

Troy ran his fingers through his hair as he got into the car.

"Where do you want to go?" Troy asked.

"Your place," Max said.

Troy shrugged and drove to his house. He got out and opened the door for Gabriella as Max got out.

"Listen, I'm going to take a walk, okay?" Max said.

"I'll go with you," Gabriella said, quickly.

"No," Max said. "I need to be alone for a bit."

"Max," Troy began.

"I'll be fine," Max assured them.

"Don't do anything stupid," Gabriella said giving her brother a hug.

"Same goes to you, little sis," Max smiled. "Troy will take care of you."

Max left and Troy led Gabriella into the house.

"Um…you want something to drink?" Troy asked.

Even though he was very close with Max and Gabriella, this was the first time he had been left alone with Gabriella.

"How did you get over losing your mom?" Gabriella asked, softly ignoring Troy's question.

"I didn't," Troy admitted. "You can't get over these things, Brie. You know that. You haven't got over losing your father, either and now, your mom's gone, too. You'll just have to learn to with it."

"How do you do that?" she asked.

"It's hard," Troy told her. "But, sooner or later, it happens. For me, there are two things that distract me. Most of the time, I stopped thinking about my mom and thought about those."

"What two things?" Gabriella asked curiously.

"Basketball and…" Troy's voice trailed away. "Basketball and a girl."

"Oh," Gabriella said.

"People let their emotions out in different ways," Troy said. "I kept everything bottled up for a long time and played basketball trying to get rid of them."

"But, you couldn't," Gabriella remembered.

**FLASHBACK**

_Gabriella walked out to the backyard at the Bolton house. Troy was playing basketball. He kept missing every shot. His mother had died a week ago and it was clear that he was not okay._

_All of a sudden, Troy threw the ball hard without aiming at anything and it hit a window inches away from Gabriella. Gabriella screamed as she jumped aside. Troy realized that Gabriella was standing there._

"_I'm sorry," he muttered awkwardly. "I didn't see you there."_

"_It's okay," Gabriella said, walking over to Troy. "How're you doing?"_

"_Not so good," Troy admitted, softly._

"_Come here," Gabriella said._

_Gabriella hugged Troy and Troy hugged back. And then, tears started rolling down his cheeks. It was at that moment that Gabriella realized that she had fallen in love with her brother's best friend._

_Jack, who had heard the glass being broken, went to see what was going on and when he saw Troy crying, he smiled. He had been worried about Troy because he was keeping everything bottled up and was glad to see that he was letting go of everything._

**END FLASHBACK**

"I never got to thank you for that day," Troy said, softly. "So, thank you."

"You're welcome," Gabriella said.

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Can I use the bathroom?" Gabriella asked. "I want to wash my face."

"Sure," Troy shrugged.

He got up and went upstairs with Gabriella behind him. He showed her to the bathroom. Then, he went to his room leaving his bedroom door open and stood by the window staring outside.

"Troy," Gabriella said, softly and Troy turned around.

He looked at her expectantly.

"That day when you broke down in front of me," Gabriella began. "I realized something important."

"What?" Troy asked curiously as she walked towards him.

"I realized that I was very much in love with you," Gabriella whispered softly.

Troy's eyes grew wide. He took her hands in his and she looked up at him.

"How come you didn't tell me before?" Troy asked.

"You're my brother's best friend," Gabriella said, softly.

Troy could not help laughing a bit.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"You know the reason why I didn't tell you that I'm in love with you?" Troy asked smiling and she shook her head. "You're my best friend's sister."

Gabriella smiled and Troy ran his finger down her cheek gently.

"You're in love with me?" she asked.

"Yeah," Troy smiled. "I am."

Gabriella smiled as Troy leaned towards her and kissed her gently. The kiss was short but sweet and it was certainly unforgettable. Troy pulled away for air.

"I've wanted to do that for some time, you know," Troy smiled.

"Me, too," Gabriella said before pulling him towards her.

And, then, a heated make out session began. Troy pushed Gabriella against the wall and lifted her up. Gabriella wrapped her legs around Troy's waist, not breaking the kiss for a moment. Troy led her towards the bed and fell back onto it with Gabriella on top of him. Gabriella's hand slid under his shirt and her fingers ran slightly down his chest. Troy felt a bulge in his pants. He was sure that Gabriella felt it too. She smirked at him as his hand wandered under her shirt. His hands fingered at her bra strap.

"I want this off," Gabriella whispered tugging at his shirt.

Troy sat up with Gabriella on her lap and pulled the shirt off. He tossed it onto the floor and their lips met again. Gabriella pulled away and then pushed Troy back onto the bed and covered his chest with butterfly kisses. Troy felt another bulge in his pants. Gabriella noticed and smiled. Troy just pulled her towards him and kissed her. His hand slid underneath her shirt once more and just as he was about to undo her bra, they heard the front door close.

"Troy!" the two heard Max call. "Gabs!"

Both Troy's and Gabriella's eyes grew wide. Gabriella quickly got off the bed and adjusted her shirt as Troy pulled on his shirt. He glanced at Gabriella and gave her a quick peck on her lips and opened the door.

The two headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"What are you guys doing upstairs?" Max asked.

"I went to wash my face," Gabriella said, quickly.

"Okay," Max said. "Um…the hospital called and asked when the funeral was."

Troy and Gabriella were jolted back into reality. For a moment, Gabriella had forgotten everything. Troy's kisses were too amazing for her to remember anything.

"Right," Gabriella said. "Shall we have it during sunset?"

"You're right," Max said. "Mom loved the sunset so we'll have it then."

"Troy," the three heard Jack call.

"In the kitchen, dad," Troy called.

Jack walked into the kitchen.

"Hey," he said giving Gabriella a one armed hug. "I just want to tell you two that this house is always welcome for you. You can stay with us if you want."

Gabriella looked at Max and then at Troy and back at Max. She shook her head.

"What about our house, then?" she asked.

"That's up to you," Jack said.

"We'll stay at our house," Max said. "It's our home. We've lived there since we were kids."

Gabriella smiled gratefully at Max. She did not want to leave her home.

"You guys want to stay over tonight, then?" Jack asked. "If so, you're welcome here."

"Thanks," Gabriella said and Max nodded.

Jack headed into the kitchen and the three went to the living room. Max sat on the armchair and Gabriella sat on the couch. Troy sat on the other end of the couch.

"Do you guys want to stay over?" Troy asked.

"Yeah," Max said. "If it's okay with Gabi."

"It's fine with me," she said.

* * *

**A/N Like it? Hate it? Let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thanks for all the reviews. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy=)**

* * *

At the funeral, Troy sat next to Gabriella as she tried to fight away her tears. He put his arm around her and she gave into her tears. Max did not move from his seat. When the funeral ended, everyone left, except for Max, Gabriella, Jack and Troy. Jack also went outside leaving the three alone.

"Troy," Max said, softly. "Take her out of here."

Troy nodded. He got up and pulled Gabriella to her feet and led her out.

"Are you okay, Brie?" he asked, softly.

Gabriella shook her head. Troy hugged her and kissed her head gently.

"She isn't coming back," Gabriella sobbed.

Troy did not know what to say. He just held her tightly in his arms until she finally calmed down.

"Gabriella," Jack said walking over to her. "Can I talk to you, please?"

"Can Troy stay?" Gabriella asked immediately as she wiped away her tears with one hand and clutching Troy's hand with the other.

"Sure," Jack shrugged. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a very small envelope. "I understand your mother always wore this. She would have wanted you to have this. I went to see if the car could be repaired and this was hanging from the edge of the seat."

Gabriella took the envelope from Jack and opened it with shaking hands. Troy wrapped his arm around her shoulders comfortingly as she held up the silver necklace. It had no pendant. Troy knew that it had been in Gabriella's family for generations. Gabriella stared at it. Jack walked away leaving Gabriella alone with Troy.

"Are you okay?" he asked her softly.

Gabriella nodded and she held up the necklace to Troy. He took it from her and she turned around. Troy put the necklace around her neck. Gabriella lowered her hair and turned to look at Troy.

"It looks great," Troy told her.

Gabriella managed a small smile.

"Hey," Max said walking over to them. "Let's go."

Troy nodded and headed towards the car with the twins behind him. Jack drove them home. Max went to one of the guest rooms and locked himself in. Gabriella went to the next guest room which was next to Troy's room.

"Troy," Jack said as Troy was about to go upstairs.

"What's up, dad?" Troy asked.

"I'm proud of you," Jack said. "You're a strong person and your friends might not show it but they're really grateful that you are there for them."

Troy nodded.

"Thanks, dad," he said. "Night."

"Night," Jack said and Troy headed upstairs.

As Troy lay in his bed, he could hear Gabriella crying in the next room. His heart broke, but, his father had told him to leave her alone if she started crying. Hours passed and she continued to cry. Finally, not being able to take it any longer he got up. He opened his bedroom door and closed it softly so as not to wake his father up. Then, he went into the next room and shut the door.

"Brie," he said, softly as he walked over to the bed.

"I'm sorry," Gabriella whispered sitting up on the bed.

"It's okay," Troy said sitting down next to her on the bed and hugging her. "You can cry all you want and I'll hold you."

"No," Gabriella said. "I don't want you to just hold me. I want you to kiss me."

"Brie," Troy said, softly.

"Troy, please," Gabriella said, softly. "Your kisses made me forget everything earlier, and you can do the same, now."

Troy leaned in and kissed her gently. She responded immediately. Troy ran his tongue on her lower lip begging for entrance and Gabriella granted his wish immediately. She pulled at his shirt and Troy pulled away from her and took it off. He tossed it onto the floor and leaned forward to kiss her again. Gabriella pushed him back so that he was lying flat on his back and then she covered his chest with butterfly kisses. Troy moaned in pleasure.

"Shush!" she whispered.

Troy could not help smile at her beautiful face. Gabriella pulled off her blouse and Troy felt the bulge in his pants as he gaped at her. She was not wearing a bra and Troy had the full view of her breasts.

"Brie," he whispered softly.

He made her lie down on her back on the bed and began to fondle with her breasts. He took them in his mouth and Gabriella moaned softly.

"Shush," he whispered, teasingly.

"Troy," Gabriella whispered.

Gabriella's brown eyes were filled with sadness, but, Troy could also see a tint of happiness in them. He hoped that he was responsible for that happy part.

"What is it, pretty girl?" he asked as he pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"I need you, now," the petite brunette said, softly.

Troy's eyes widened. He knew that Gabriella was a virgin and he did not want to take advantage of her while she was so upset, however much he wanted this.

"Brie," Troy said, softly. "Aren't you a virgin?"

"I am," she replied tugging at his boxers making Troy feel like his boxers would rip off at any moment.

"But, then," Troy stopped. "Brie, I don't want you to regret this."

"I won't," Gabriella said.

Before Troy could say anything, she had pulled off her pajama bottoms and her underwear and was tugging at his boxers.

"Brie," Troy said, again. "You know that this will hurt."

"Troy," Gabriella said, softly loving the fact that he was so caring. "I love you and I trust you and I want you to be my first and last."

Troy saw the look in her eyes and let her pull his boxers off. He could not help grinning when he saw her gaping at her erection. Troy sat up, slowly and pulled her into a kiss. He shifted so that Gabriella was lying on her back. He positioned himself in front of his opening.

"Brie," he whispered softly. "Are you sure?"

"I'm positive," Gabriella said.

"There's no going back, you know," he told her.

"I know," Gabriella said. "Please, Troy. I love you because you care so much, but, I want this."

"I love you, too," he smiled.

Troy entered her slowly. Gabriella clutched his shoulders. Troy saw her biting her lips and he could feel her fingernails digging into his back.

"Does it hurt a lot?" he asked and Gabriella let out a breath.

"A bit," she said, softly.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked.

"No," Gabriella said. "Keep going."

Troy nodded and slowly he thrust in and out of her. Gabriella closed her eyes and focused on the pleasure. She moaned softly and Troy increased his pace. He kissed the side of her neck and left his mark. Gabriella dug her nails into his back even more as she met with every single one of his thrusts.

"Troy," she whispered.

Troy felt Gabriella tighten around his cock and he felt his climax nearing.

"Come with me, pretty girl," he grunted as he continued to thrust into her.

Gabriella reached her climax and she screamed softly. Troy kissed her quickly as he thrust into her a few more times before he came. He pulled out of her and lay next to her with his arms around her and their legs tangled together.

"That's what I've been missing?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded as he buried his head in her hair.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too, Wildcat," she whispered.

Troy chuckled when he heard his new nickname.

The two drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. A few hours later, Troy woke up. He felt Gabriella stir next to him.

"Troy," she murmured. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," Troy said, softly.

They lay in silence for a while.

"Troy," Gabriella said again. "I'm so stupid."

Troy sighed. Half of him had been expecting this.

"My mother died this morning and now, look at me," Gabriella said. "I'm lying in bed naked with my brother's best friend."

"Brie," Troy began.

"No, Troy," Gabriella said. "I'm not regretting this. I'm just feeling really mean."

"Brie," Troy said. "It's not wrong if it feels right to you."

"Troy," Gabriella said again, after awhile. "Max is going to be so mad at us."

"I know," Troy sighed.

"I say we don't tell him about this," Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. There was another silence.

"Brie," he said, softly. "What are we?"

"I don't know," she replied. "What do you think?"

"All I know is that you're not a one night stand," he said. "I want to be with you, Brie. I love you. I don't want this to be just flings. You know; not something like friends with benefits. I want to be serious. All this time I've just randomly made out with girls and slept with them and I've pretty much been labeled as a player. But, I want a serious relationship. And I want it with you. So, will you be my girlfriend?"

"I'd love to," Gabriella said. "But, on two conditions."

"What's that?" Troy asked.

"You don't get mad when I talk to other guys and you don't act around the cheerleaders the way you do now," Gabriella said. "I mean, like you're all over them. You can talk to them, but, no flirting, please."

"Done," Troy said, smiling slightly. Gabriella was quite amusing.

A few minutes passed and they lay in a comfortable silence, again.

"I better go to my room," Troy said. "It's nearly half past four."

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, then, boyfriend," she smiled as he pulled on his clothes.

Troy chuckled, softly before he opened the door and left the room, leaving Gabriella lying in the darkness. He went to his room, but, he could not sleep. His bed felt cold – not warm like Gabriella's. He lay on bed staring at the ceiling, but, it was like his eyes refused to close.

At last, he got up and changed into his sweatpants and a white t-shirt that showed off his six-pack. He pulled on his grey hooded sweater with a red Wildcat on the back and grabbed his iPod. Quietly, he went downstairs and left the house. He grabbed his basketball which was lying on the lawn and headed towards the court near the river. The 'Rivercourt'! That was what he called it. It was the only place he could be himself and whenever he needed to think, no other place was better.

It was dark when he got there, so he sat on one of the picnic tables thinking about all that had happened. He pulled the hood over his head and stared at the still river.

"What are you doing here?" a voice behind him asked.

Troy did not need to look to see who the person was.

"I might as well ask you the same question," he replied.

A few seconds later, Gabriella appeared next to him.

"I couldn't sleep," she answered.

"Neither could I," he said, softly.

He leaned over and kissed her gently. Gabriella fell into the kiss immediately. Troy pulled away after a few seconds. He moved over so that Gabriella could sit down. It was quite cold and dark and Gabriella was freezing as she was only wearing her jeans and a tank top.

"You cold?" Troy asked when she rubbed her arms with her hands.

Without waiting for an answer, he pulled Gabriella onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. Gabriella cuddled close to Troy feeling warmer.

"Do you want to play with me?" Troy asked.

"Do you realize how kindergarten that sounds?" Gabriella asked giggling and Troy smiled. "But, no. I don't want to play with you. But, you go ahead. I'll be more than happy to watch you."

Troy smiled and she got off his lap. She wrapped her own arms around herself. Troy noticed and pulled off his sweater and helped her to put it on. Then, grabbing his basketball, he began to play by himself. It helped him to think. Gabriella watched him realizing how sexy he looked while he played.

An hour passed and the sun rose. Troy stopped playing and walked over to Gabriella. He put his hands on the table on either side of her so that she could not get up. Gabriella blushed and looked away. Troy placed his finger on her chin and turned her head so that she was facing him.

"You're beautiful," he whispered before kissing her.

Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck just as Troy's cell phone rang.

"Leave it," Gabriella whispered.

"It's probably your brother," Troy said. "He'll be worried."

Gabriella nodded.

"Talk to me," Troy said into the phone. "Yeah, she's here with me. We were at the Rivercourt. We're going home now, dude. Don't worry. Trust me. I'll keep her safe."

Troy hung up and then held his hand out to his girlfriend.

"Your brother's worried," he told her. "And, if we're going to keep 'us' from him, we better go home."

"I don't want to walk," she pouted.

Troy chuckled and turned around so that she could climb onto his back. Then, he walked all the way home with her on his back. By the time he got home, she was asleep, so, he went upstairs and put her to bed. He kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Brie," he said softly and left.

He went to the backyard where Max was playing basketball.

"When did you go to the Rivercourt?" Max asked.

"Around five in the morning," Troy replied.

"You woke Gabriella up at five in the morning?" Max asked raising his eyebrows.

"No," Troy rolled his eyes. "I went alone. She went a few minutes after."

"What'd you do?" Max asked.

"What's with all the questions?" Troy asked. "But, if you really want to know, I played ball and Gabriella just sat there."

"Where is she?" Max asked.

"She's asleep," Troy replied and Max just nodded. "Look, dude, you don't trust me to be alone with Gabriella, do you?"

"To be honest, Troy," Max sighed. "I don't."

Troy was surprised. He had not expected this answer. He stared at Max for a moment.

"Well, I'm glad I know how you feel," he said quietly and turned to walk back into the house.

"Troy, wait," Max said. "It's not just you. I don't trust her to be alone with any guy. Especially now."

"Max, I'm not just 'any guy'," Troy said. "I'm your best friend. I've known you two since preschool."

Max did not say anything.

"Fine," Troy said. "You don't trust me. That's fine with me. But, you could have told me a bit earlier."

Troy walked towards his car ignoring Max. He got in and drove off. He did not return the whole day. He only came back a couple of minutes before midnight.

"Where were you?" Gabriella and Jack asked just as he walked through the door.

"I don't know," Troy shrugged. "I was driving all over town. I wasn't in any place in particular. I needed to think."

This satisfied Jack, but, Gabriella was not satisfied. Max was left feeling uncomfortable.

"Go eat something, Troy," Jack said. "You must be hungry."

"Yeah, I'm starving," Troy realized.

"I'll make you something," Gabriella said. "You like pasta, don't you? Come on, I'll cook."

"I don't think Max would like that," Troy said, softly.

Jack looked up and realized that there was a misunderstanding between the two boys. He left the room not wanting to get into the middle of things knowing that they would solve whatever problem they had between them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gabriella asked.

"Apparently, Max doesn't trust me to be alone with you," Troy said.

"It's not like that, Troy," Max sighed.

"Then, what is it like, Max?" Troy yelled angrily. "I'd really like to know, Max. I want to know why all of a sudden you can't trust me."

"Troy, you have no idea what I'm going through," Max yelled.

"You think I don't know what you're going through?" Troy asked. "Dude, I know exactly what you're going through. In case you forgot, I went through the exact same thing last year."

Gabriella knew that his mother was a tough subject for Troy. Whenever someone mentioned her, he grew quiet.

"Troy," she said, softly but, Troy ignored her.

"Max, I'm trying to help you, man," Troy said more softly. "But, if you suddenly decide that you can't trust me, then, I can't do that."

"Troy," Max said and stopped.

Troy raised an eyebrow at Max, but, when he did not say anything he ignored Max and just went upstairs. A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on his door.

"Go away," he yelled thinking that it was Max.

The door opened a crack and the room was filled with the mouth watering smell of pasta.

"I made you dinner," Gabriella said, softly.

Troy stared at Gabriella.

"Thanks," he smiled and Gabriella entered the room, closing the door behind her. "Look, I'm sorry I lost my temper downstairs."

"It's okay," Gabriella said. "You had every right to be mad."

Troy took the plate of pasta from Gabriella and began to eat hungrily.

"There's some more downstairs," Gabriella said.

"I think I'll go downstairs," Troy said. "After I'm done with this plate."

"You always have a bigger appetite when you're upset," Gabriella noticed.

Troy stopped eating and stared at Gabriella in surprised. That was true, but no one else, not even Jack, had noticed that. The only person who knew this was his mother.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked.

"No one else has ever noticed that," Troy said, softly. "Only my mother noticed that I ate more when I'm upset or when I have something on my mind."

"Oh," Gabriella said. "I've noticed a lot of stuff about you, Troy."

"I'm glad," Troy smiled at her.

All of a sudden, Gabriella leaned over and kissed Troy's cheek. Troy felt his cheeks grow warm. He turned to look at her and smiled.

"What was that for?" he asked. "Not that I didn't like it."

"I'm here for you, Troy," Gabriella said.

"Thanks, Brie," he smiled. "You do know that I'm here for you, too."

Gabriella moved closer to Troy and slipped her hands through his left arm. She rested her head on his shoulder. Troy looked down at her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"She's gone, Troy," she whispered.

"I know," Troy said.

Before he could say anything else, the door flew open and Max stood at the doorway.

"There's such a thing called knocking," Troy snapped.

"What's going on?" Max demanded. "Are you two like dating or something?"

"No," Gabriella said, quickly getting up from the bed.

"And, even if we were," Troy said. "It wouldn't be any of your business."

"So, you _are _dating?" Max asked.

"No!" Gabriella said, sensing how angry her brother was getting. "I'm your sister, Max. You have to believe me."

Max stared at Gabriella for a moment and then nodded, curtly.

"I'm going to get some more of that pasta," Troy said. "I would prefer if you didn't stand there, Max. Gabriella, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want to."

Before either one of them could say another word, Troy left the room without even glancing at Max as he strode past him. Jack had gone to bed. Troy ate the rest of the pasta and rinsed the plate. He pulled on his sweater just as Gabriella walked into the kitchen.

"Where're you going?" she asked.

"Where's Max?" Troy asked.

"He went to sleep," Gabriella replied. "Where're you going, Troy?"

"Out," Troy replied.

"Troy, it's late," Gabriella said.

"I know," he replied.

"Troy," she said, softly. "I'm sorry about Max."

"It's not your fault," he said, quickly. "I'll see you later, Brie."

He kissed her cheek quickly and left the house shutting the door behind him quietly in case his father woke up.

Hours later, Troy found himself in the cemetery sitting next to his mother's grave.

"I miss you, mom," Troy whispered. "Especially at times like this. Max isn't talking to me and I'm in love with Gabriella, mom. You always told me that it would happen, but, I didn't think that I'd fall in love with my best friend's sister. She's amazing, mom. And I can't do anything about how I feel. I want to show everyone that she's mine, but, I can't. Max would be so mad if he knew about us. I know. You want me to tell Max how I feel about Gabriella, but, it just isn't so easy, mom. I wish you're here, right now. I need you, mom. I feel stupid crying and talking to a grave, but, I know you're listening to me. I just wish I could talk to you. You'd know exactly what to do, right now. Gabriella notices all these little things about me that no one except you knew. It scares me because I love her so much. She loves me, too, mom. And I don't want to hurt her, but, I'm afraid I'm doing it right now, by not being there for her."

Troy leaned against the grave as tears rolled down his cheek. He missed his mother. He knew that he was not a kid anymore to cry, but he could not help it.

* * *

**A/N What do you guys think? Let me know. =)**


	3. Chapter 3

"Son," Troy felt someone call him and shake his shoulder. "Son, wake up!"

Troy opened his eyes and blinked in the bright sunlight. He had fallen asleep in the cemetery. A couple around his father's age was next to him. The man had his hand on Troy's shoulder.

"What time is it?" Troy muttered.

"Half past seven," the man replied. "Are you okay?"

"No," Troy groaned, scrambling onto his feet.

"Was she a relative?" the woman asked.

"She was my mother," Troy replied. "She died last year."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay," Troy said. "I better get going. I didn't mean to fall asleep here."

"Take care of yourself, son," he said. "Don't do anything stupid."

Troy nodded and walked out of the cemetery running his hand through his hair as he did so. He drove home.

"Where were you?" Jack demanded angrily the minute he opened the door. "You're a mess. Where have you been?"

Troy looked around the room and saw Max and Gabriella staring at him.

"At the cemetery," Troy muttered. "I fell asleep, there."

"What the hell were you doing at the cemetery?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Troy replied. "I was driving around and then I found myself there…next to mom's grave."

Jack's face softened. He glanced over at Gabriella and Max and they realized that Jack wanted a moment alone with Troy and left the room.

"Listen, Troy," Jack said. "I want you to talk to someone. I don't care whether it's me or not, but, if you want to talk to me, I'm here."

"Thanks," Troy muttered not looking at Jack.

"Talk to someone," Jack said. "I know you and Max aren't on friendly terms right now, so how about you talk to Chad Danforth. You're pretty good friends with him, aren't you? Or what about Gabriella?"

"Max doesn't want me to talk to Gabriella," Troy snapped and Jack realized what Troy was upset about.

"You love her, don't you?" Jack said and Troy forced himself to look at Jack and nodded. "Does she know?"

"Yeah," Troy replied. "We're…she's my girlfriend, dad, but, Max doesn't know it."

Jack nodded.

"I'm sorry I was a bit harsh on you, earlier, Troy," Jack said.

"It's okay, dad," Troy said.

"Take a shower," Jack said. "You stink."

Troy managed to smile when Jack said that and he hurried upstairs. He took a shower and went back downstairs.

"Pancakes?" Gabriella asked lifting a plate with pancakes swimming in syrup.

"Thanks," Troy grinned grabbing a fork. "Where's Max?"

"He went for a run," Gabriella said. "He won't be back for a while."

"Oh," Troy said. "This is really good, by the way."

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled.

"Listen, Brie," Troy said. "You don't have to cook for me, okay?"

"I know," Gabriella said. "But, I want to."

Troy smiled and held up a piece of pancake to her. She shook her head.

"I just ate," she smiled. "Thanks."

"I know thought that I'd go this crazy over my best friend's sister," Troy grinned and Gabriella blushed.

"I'm glad you did," she said shyly.

"Me, too," Troy smiled.

He leaned over and kissed her, gently.

"You taste like syrup," she giggled.

"And, whose fault is that?" he smirked. "You're the one who made these delicious pancakes."

"I'm glad you like them," she smiled.

The doorbell rang.

"That must be Max," Gabriella said.

"You said he wouldn't be here for awhile," Troy said getting up. "Besides, he never rings the doorbell."

Troy opened the door.

"We're going home," Max said looking past Troy at Gabriella.

"What if I'm not ready to go home, yet?" Gabriella asked.

"It won't be just you," Max said. "I'll be there, too."

"Just like you said you'd be there when dad died," Gabriella said, softly.

"That was then," Max said. "And, I'm sorry about that."

"I don't think I want to go home just yet," Gabriella said.

"Look, Gabriella," Troy said. "You're more than welcome to stay here."

"So that you can screw her like every other girl in school?" Max asked. "I don't think so."

Troy stiffened. He glared at Max.

"You think I'd screw your sister?" Troy asked. "You know I wouldn't do that, Max."

"I don't know anything right now, Bolton," Max said.

"I want to stay here," Gabriella interrupted the argument between the two friends. "I don't think I'm ready to go back home, yet."

Max stared at Gabriella.

"Fine," Max said. "You stay here. I'll go home."

He pushed past Troy and Gabriella and went upstairs. A few minutes later, he appeared with his bag.

"Can I talk to you, Troy?" Max asked.

Troy stared at Max for a moment and then shrugged. The two boys stepped outside and Troy closed the door leaving Gabriella inside.

"Listen to me, Bolton," Max said before Troy could say a word. "If you lay a single finger on my sister's body, I swear I'll never forgive you."

"Max," Troy began.

"She's a virgin," Max said. "And, I don't want you screwing her, man."

Troy's eyes darkened and Max noticed. It was a sign that everyone knew. Whenever Troy's eyes were dark, it was best to stay away. Max nodded at Troy and left.

Troy watched Max disappear around the corner and then kicked the trash can trying to get rid of his anger.

Gabriella watched from the window. Jack appeared next to her a few minutes later.

"Something to do with Max?" Jack asked and Gabriella nodded.

"Something to do with Max and me," Gabriella said, after awhile. "I didn't want to come in between them."

"Gabi," Jack said gently. "You will always be in between them. You have always been in between them. I mean this in a good way. And, you will always be more important to Troy than anyone else, even me."

Gabriella looked up at Jack in surprise. He put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a one armed hug.

"Don't look so surprised," Jack chuckled. "I remember the day when Troy's mother died. You were the one who got him to let go. I must admit, I was worried about him. Troy has always loved you. Maybe more than he has ever loved anyone. I know my son, Gabriella. If he had the choice to save you or himself, first he would look for a way to save the both of you. If he can't, I'm pretty sure that he would save you. He's willing to risk his life for you."

"But, I can't be with Troy," Gabriella whispered, feeling close to tears. "Max would be so mad."

"Max will come around," Jack told her. "He's your brother and he's Troy's best friend."

"Max doesn't have a lot of friends other than Troy," Gabriella said. "Troy's popular and has tons of friends but it's not that easy for Max."

"You think it's easy for Troy?" Jack asked.

"Isn't it?" Gabriella looked surprised.

"It's tough being the playmaker," Jack said. "And, Troy's the playmaker at East High School. And, I'm not saying this because he's my son. All the teachers have noticed this. Troy keeps the school together. For generations, East High has been divided into cliques and since Troy has started East High School and made the basketball team, he had made sure that everyone had equal rights to everything in the school. Everyone in the school looks up to him because of that. Even the teachers have a lot of respect for him. It was the first time in years that we have seen a smart student – in your words, a nerd – talk to a jock and not get beaten up. Things were that bad at East High and Troy changed all of it at his first year at East High. Even the seniors back then respected him."

"He's a great guy," Gabriella agreed.

"Go to him," Jack said.

Gabriella glanced at Jack and he nodded. Gabriella opened the front door and stepped outside. She hurried towards Troy.

"Troy," she said, softly.

"What?" Troy snapped. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Gabriella said moving closer to him.

Troy wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"I really am sorry," he said. "About everything with Max. I know you hate fighting with him and I've caused it again. I'm sorry."

"Troy," Gabriella said, quietly. "This thing with Max…it's not your fault. If I wanted to go home, I could've and he wouldn't have been mad. But, I wanted to stay. I would've stayed even if we weren't together, because, honestly, I don't think I'm ready to go home alone with Max. I want to go home with someone who will stay with me for a day or two."

"I'll go," Troy said immediately. "Not that I don't want you here. If you want, you can move into this house. We'll have good food."

Gabriella giggled.

"You'd really go with me?" she asked.

"Of course," he smiled at her. "And, I'll stay with you as long as you need me to. Hell, I'll stay even longer if I don't feel like coming home."

"Thank you," she smiled as she leaned against his chest.

Troy's hugged her closer to him, half afraid that he would break her in half – she was so petite.

* * *

**A/N Here's your next chapter. Review!!:D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Here are two chapters in this, too!**

* * *

The next morning Troy woke up early. He smiled when he saw his beautiful girlfriend lying next to him. He was so proud of her. Through everything, she had been really strong. He stroked her hair lovingly and she opened her eyes.

"Oh, I didn't mean to wake you," Troy said quickly.

"It's okay," Gabriella said. "I'm glad you woke me, actually. I want to go home, that is, if you will stay with me for a couple of days, without Max finding out. Like, just at nights. I don't think I can stay alone at night, Troy. I mean, I'll probably be out all the day. I'll be at school or here. I just don't want to be alone at night. Please, stay with me."

"Of course, I will," Troy said, quickly. "When do you want to go?"

"We can just hang out today and go tonight," Gabriella said. "Would it be okay with your dad if we cut school?"

"Sure," Troy shrugged. "So what does 'hang out' consist of?"

"I don't know," she replied. "Let's make it up as we go along."

"Fine with me," he smiled. "Does 'making it up' include buying donuts?"

"Why?" she laughed.

"I've got a sudden craving for donuts," he grinned.

"Let's not keep you waiting, then," she smiled.

The two got up and Troy went to his room to get dressed. A few minutes later, they were both downstairs. Jack was not home. He had gone to school for a staff meeting, so, Troy left a note. Then, they left the house. Troy opened the door to his truck for Gabriella and the two headed to buy donuts. They got a box full of donuts. Gabriella only managed to eat two, but, Troy swallowed down five.

"I don't know how you can eat like that," Gabriella laughed as he finally set the box down on the back seat of the car.

"It's pretty easy when you're hungry," Troy smiled.

"You must have been really hungry," she smiled.

Troy leaned over and kissed her gently.

"Where do you want to go next?" he asked.

"I don't know," she shrugged.

Troy shrugged and stepped on the gas pedal.

"Where are we going?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't know yet," Troy said. "I'm just driving."

As Troy passed, Gabriella saw the coffee shop that her mother used to take her and Max out for breakfast every Saturday. Then, she saw the mall and remembered all the times her mother had taken her shopping. She could not stand it. She could not stand seeing all those places. She wanted to cry.

"Let's go home," Gabriella said. "I know I said that I wanted to hang out today, but, maybe we can hang out inside a house. Please, Troy."

Troy heard the pain in her voice. He looked at her and saw the pain stretched across her face. It was clear that she was upset.

"Please," she whispered.

"Whatever you want, Ella," Troy whispered taking her hand and kissing it gently as he took the turn that led to his house.

Troy did not let go of her hand till they reached the house. They got quite a surprise when they Max saw standing at the front door. Gabriella let go of Troy's hand hoping that Max had not noticed it. She got out of the car and ran straight into her brother's open arms. Troy got out of the car more slowly and just stared at the siblings taking in the bond between them.

"Max," Troy said, softly walking over to them. "I would never hurt Gabriella. I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impressions, but, I won't hurt her. I wouldn't do that. I couldn't bear to see her hurt."

"I know," Max said as Gabriella pulled away from him. "I'm sorry for losing my temper, too."

"You know, brothers fight," Troy said.

"And, they're still brothers," Max smiled giving Troy a brotherly hug.

"Finally!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I've been going crazy wondering when you two lovebirds will be back together."

"You're going to pay for that Gabriella!" Max yelled.

"Big time!" Troy added.

Max and Troy chased Gabriella to the back of the house. Troy was faster than Max and caught up with Gabriella within seconds. Max caught up a few seconds later. Troy threw Gabriella onto his shoulder and ran straight towards the pool and threw her in. the two boys grinned as they stared at Gabriella as she rose to the surface glaring at them angrily.

"Good job, buddy," Max grinned rapping knuckles with Troy.

"Thanks," Troy said before reaching out to help Gabriella. "Here, Gabs. Let me help."

"Thanks," Gabriella said taking his hand. "But, I'd prefer if I could help _you_!"

Before Troy could register what she had said, she had pulled him into the pool with quite some force. Max burst out laughing as Troy rose to the surface.

"Max!" Troy exclaimed. "You're supposed to be on my side. Help me up."

Max reached out to help Troy and Troy did the same thing Gabriella did and pulled Max into the pool.

"So, you two made up?" Jack asked walking out of the house towards the pool.

Max and Troy looked at each other and grinned. They got out of the pool together.

"Yeah," Troy said walking over to Jack while he pulled off his wet shirt. "We made up."

"That's good," Jack said as Troy tossed his shirt onto the grass.

"Now!" Troy exclaimed.

Together he and Max pushed Jack towards the pool. Jack did not go without a fight. He held onto Max's shirt making Max go into the pool with him. Troy stood at the edge grinning. Then, he jumped back into the pool.

"Troy," Gabriella said suddenly.

Troy swam over to Gabriella as Max and Jack began to race around the pool.

"What's up, pretty girl?" he asked softly so that neither Jack nor Max could hear him.

"Remember how you used to give me rides around the pool when we were younger?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah," Troy nodded. "You want one, now, don't you?"

Gabriella nodded turning red. Troy chuckled. He took her hands and wrapped it around his neck. Gabriella wrapped her legs around Troy's waist.

"Hold on, tightly," Troy told Gabriella. "We're going to join the race."

Gabriella giggled like a little girl as Troy swam towards Jack and her brother.

"You better be careful, Troy," Max warned. "Or else, Gabriella will make you carry her into the house, too."

"She'll have to be my slave for life in that case," Troy smirked.

Gabriella gasped. She kicked his crotch with her leg from under the water. Neither Jack nor Max noticed as they were both getting out of the pool, but, Troy gritted his teeth to keep his mouth from saying any curse words in front of Jack.

"You're going to pay," Troy whispered to Gabriella who just laughed.

"You love me too much to do anything bad to me," Gabriella smirked.

"True," Troy sighed as he swam towards the edge of the pool.

He climbed out of the pool with Gabriella still clinging onto his back.

"Are you planning on getting off my back at any time soon?" Troy asked.

"Nope," Gabriella smirked.

Troy laughed and carried her into the house.

"Oh, get off Troy's back, Gabriella!" Max exclaimed pretending to be annoyed. "You two look like you're dating. You make me sick!"

Troy's cheeks grew hot as Gabriella got off his back.

"If we're dating, that would make you sick?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah," Max laughed.

"Let's see if it really does make you sick," Gabriella grinned.

"Huh?' Max looked confused.

Gabriella turned to face Troy and without any warning, she kissed him. Troy was caught by surprise. No sooner had their lips met, Gabriella pulled away.

"Did that make you sick?" Gabriella asked before she went upstairs to change.

"What just happened?" Troy asked feeling slightly dazed.

"My sister kissed you," Max said feeling just as surprised as Troy was.

"Oh," Troy said.

He shook his head slightly and turned to go upstairs.

"Wait, dude," Max said.

"Yeah?" Troy turned to look at Max.

"You look like you like it when she kisses you," Max said and Troy felt his cheeks growing warm. "Do you?"

"You might not like the truth," Troy said.

"Which is?" Max asked already knowing the answer.

"Your sister is one hell of a kisser," Troy said.

Max's expression was unreadable.

"Dude, you aren't mad, are you?" Troy asked.

"I…uh…" Max's voice trailed away. Part of him wanted to kill Troy for saying that, but, he also knew that Troy had done nothing wrong.

"Dude, it's not my fault," Troy said holding up his hands.

"I know," Max said. "I'm not mad."

Troy did not say anything. He just turned and hurried upstairs before Jack came and yelled at him for dripping water onto the carpet.


	5. Chapter 5

That evening, Troy drove Max and Gabriella to the Montez house. Max got out of the car and headed towards the door.

"And, he said that he'll be here," Gabriella sighed.

"Tell you what," Troy told her. "Tell Max you're going to sleep or something. Then, call me and I'll come over. I'll climb through the balcony, so leave the balcony door unlocked."

"Thanks," Gabriella said giving Troy a small grateful smile.

"Anytime, Brie," he told her. "Now, go, or Max would get suspicious."

"Bye," Gabriella said and got out of the car quickly.

Troy watched as she walked to the door slowly. He waited till she was inside and the house was fully lit before he drove off. He arrived at his own house and had not turned off the engine when his cell phone rang. He got out of the car and then walked to the Montez household. Halfway there, he started running and did not stop until he was at the tree outside Gabriella's balcony. He climbed up and opened the balcony door. Gabriella was sitting on the bed hugging her knees. She did not look up when Troy entered. Troy hurried over and hugged her gently. She leant against him. There were no tears.

"Everything reminds me of her," she said. "Even these sheets remind me of her. I remember how she helped me to put them on."

"It's hard," Troy said. "We both know that, Brie. It was the same when your dad died. It was the same when my mom died. It's hard, but, you're a strong person and you'll deal with this. It may take a long time or a short time, but, you'll do it. I have faith in you."

"Thank you," she said, softly.

Troy lay next to her on the bed till she fell asleep. He watched her sleep as he softly stroked her hair.

* * *

**A/N What do you think? Let me know =D**


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, when Gabriella woke up, Troy was gone. She grabbed her phone and called him.

"Hey, where are you?" she asked as soon as he picked up.

"I'm at the Rivercourt with Max," he replied.

"Okay," Gabriella replied. "I guess I'll talk to you later, then."

"Yeah, bye," Troy said hung up.

Gabriella sat alone on the bed staring at her phone. Finally, she got up and went to the bathroom. She wanted to forget everything. She filled the bathtub with bubbles and got in. She heard the front door shut, but, did not bother getting out. A moment later, she heard both Max and Troy call her name. Then, she heard the door of her bedroom open.

"Brie?" she heard Troy call.

"In here," she called back.

She heard a door close and then there was a knock on her bathroom door.

"Can I come in?" Troy asked.

"Sure," Gabriella replied.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "How are you?"

Gabriella shrugged and just played with the bubbles.

"You better go," Gabriella said. "Max will be waiting. I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay," Troy said.

He leaned towards her and gave her a quick kiss before going back downstairs. Gabriella got out of the bathtub. She swayed on the spot as everything began to go dark. Quickly, she sat down until everything cleared up again. Then, she pulled on her shortest dress which barely covered half of her thighs. It was strapless and there was a zipper hidden in front of the dress. She had stopped wearing it because she had grown out of it. It showed far more of her cleavage than she would have wanted and was too short. She put on her robe over it and headed down as well.

"Are you okay?" Max asked her.

"I guess," she replied. "I just feel a bit dizzy."

"Well, let me know if it doesn't get better," Max said. "I'm going to head out for a while, okay?"

"Sure," Gabriella shrugged.

"Troy?" Max asked. "You want a ride?"

"No, thanks," Troy said. "I have my car."

"Right, I forgot," Max said. "I'll see you later, man."

Troy nodded as Max slammed the door shut. As soon as his car was out of sight, Gabriella threw herself at Troy, kissing him on the lips. Troy fell back against the kitchen counter as he kissed back. His arms went around her waist.

"Wait," he said pulling away. "You said you were dizzy."

"It's better now," Gabriella said. "Kiss me."

Troy gave her a smile before he kissed her again. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Troy turned around and placed her on the kitchen counter as she tugged at his shirt. He pulled it off and she ran her fingers down his chest right down to his belt.

"You want to do this here?" Troy asked between kisses.

"It doesn't look like you can wait much longer," Gabriella smirked stroking his obvious bulge through his pants.

Troy grinned at her and kissed her again untying her robe as he did so. He did not even look at her properly as he threw it to the floor. Gabriella pushed him back with as much force as she could. He looked at her in surprise.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Then, he noticed the dress. He gaped at her as she crossed her legs. As she lifted her leg to cross it, Troy caught a glimpse of what was underneath the dress. What was supposed to be there was not there! He felt like his pants were going to rip off at any moment.

"Whoa!" he said.

"Like what you see?" Gabriella asked, jumping off the counter gracefully.

Troy was about to answer when they heard a car come up the driveway. Startled, Gabriella grabbed her robe and put it on hurriedly. Troy tried to think of something that would get rid of his erection as he pulled on his shirt, but, his mind kept going back to Gabriella's sexy body.

"Hey," Max said entering the kitchen. "I forgot my phone."

Max stared at Troy as he moved behind the counter.

"What happened to your hair?" he asked. "It's all messy."

"Um…I don't know," Troy said. "Maybe it was the wind."

"Okay," Max said, slowly. "I'll see you later. I'll be late, so don't wait up for me, Gabi."

Troy nodded weakly. Gabriella laughed out loud when Max left.

"The wind?" she laughed. "Honestly, Troy. You're the worst liar ever."

"What can I say?" Troy said. "You were distracting me a lot when he came."

"You never did answer my question," she smiled. "Did you like what you saw?"

"Hell, yeah!" Troy grinned walking over to her. "Show me some more, will you?"

Gabriella giggled as she pulled off the robe slowly. Troy smiled at her. He helped her as she tried to pull off his shirt once more. Soon, they were kissing heatedly. Hands flew everywhere. Gabriella did not know how, but the front of her dress was suddenly open and she was fully naked.

"The zipper was supposed to be hidden," she moaned as Troy sucked on her breasts.

"Who cares?" Troy said, breathlessly. "The fact that you aren't wearing any underwear…well, that's doing a lot to me right now."

Gabriella smirked and looked down at the large tent in his pants. She pulled his head towards hers and kissed him again. Her hand slowly went down to his belt buckle and undid it. Their lips did not part for a second as she slipped his hand down his pants and through his boxes. Troy gasped as she stroked him slowly.

"Brie," he moaned as she started pumping up and down.

His knees felt like they were about to give away as Gabriella fastened her pace. He clutched the counter tightly and just as he was about to come, Gabriella pulled her hand out.

"Brie," he groaned.

Gabriella just smirked at him. Troy looked down at her hands which was now lowering the zipper of his pants slowly.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, frustrated. "Are you trying to kill me? I'm in serious pain here, Brie." 

Gabriella laughed as she pushed his pants down. Troy kicked it off. The bulge was more obvious, now and Gabriella could not help staring at it. Troy's boxers were too tight for him, now.

"Like what you see?" Troy smirked, repeating Gabriella from earlier.

Gabriella blushed. Suddenly, she noticed something written on his boxers.

"Sex toy inside," she read. She looked at him and smirked. "Well, I definitely want to play."

Troy grinned. Gabriella pushed his boxers down and within seconds it was fully erect. Then, she pushed him back and stared at him at his full glory.

"I'm not even going to try and hide it," Troy said and Gabriella laughed.

Suddenly, Gabriella leaned forward and grabbed his erection. She pulled at it and Troy immediately moved towards her. Before Gabriella could register anything else in her head, Troy was bending down and sucking at her opening. She moaned in delight and clutched at his hair. She came into his mouth and Troy licked her clean. He got up and then, put his finger through her opening. He moved it slowly, grinning as Gabriella moaned, loudly. He pushed in another finger. Gabriella's hands were on either side of her legs. Troy watched as she threw her head back.

"More," she moaned and he pushed another finger in.

Troy pulled his fingers in and out quickly.

"More, Troy," Gabriella begged.

Troy pushed in another finger and Gabriella still could not seem to get enough.

"Troy, I want more," Gabriella pleaded.

"I can't fit my whole hand in you, Brie," Troy said, amused.

This was a Gabriella he was not used to seeing, but, he could definitely get used to seeing this Gabriella. He liked it when Gabriella begged. He felt Gabriella tighten around his fingers and knew that she was about to come. He pulled all four fingers out. Gabriella groaned.

"What did you do that for?" she asked. "I was almost there." 

"I know," Troy grinned.

"I want you, now, Troy," she said stroking his rock-hard cock.

Troy looked down at his cock and then back at Gabriella. It was almost like she was stroking him absentmindedly.

"I want you to beg for it," he smirked.

"I want you, Troy," Gabriella repeated.

"That's not enough," Troy said, although he was dying to be inside Gabriella.

"I want you right now, Troy Bolton!" Gabriella said, her voice rising. "I want you to fuck me like you never did to anyone before!"

"You're getting there," Troy grinned.

"Troy, I want your huge cock in me, right now!" Gabriella screamed. She stuck one of her own fingers through her opening and pulled it out. She pushed it through Troy's lips. "See, how wet I am. It's all for you Troy. I –"

Gabriella broke off with a gasp as Troy suddenly pushed his cock through her opening. Gabriella came immediately.

"Don't go slow on me," she managed to whisper as she caught her breath.

Troy grinned. All the girls he had had sex with wanted him to go slow when he wanted to let go and the girl he was in love with was telling him that she wanted it rough. However, Troy pulled back slowly until only the tip of his cock was in her.

"What the hell are you –" Gabriella began and broke off as Troy slammed into her.

Troy moved in and out of her as fast as he could. He lifted her right off the counter and pushed her towards the refrigerator. He held her there and then started thrusting in and out of her. The refrigerator shook every time Troy pushed into her. Gabriella's moans were so loud, Troy was afraid that a neighbor was going to come to see what was wrong. Troy moved back towards the counter. Gabriella wrapped her legs around him tightly making him go deeper than before.

"I want to ride you, cowboy style," Gabriella said.

Troy stared at her in surprise. This was just the second time that Gabriella was having sex and she was already so straightforward about it.

"Let's go upstairs," Troy said, placing her on the counter.

Troy pulled out of Gabriella. He grabbed the clothes and Gabriella's robe knowing that Max might come home even though he said he was going to be late. Gabriella slid off the counter. Troy kept all the clothes on the counter and was back with Gabriella within a second.

"Why'd you get off?" he asked lifting her up to the counter once more.

Before Gabriella could answer, he was in her again. She grabbed the clothes and Troy carried her upstairs. He kicked the door shut with his leg and Gabriella dropped the clothes to the floor. Their lips met in a heated kiss and Troy backed towards the bed. As he fell back onto it, their kiss broke. Troy stared at Gabriella in amazement as she started to ride him. Her breasts bounced up and down. He sat up and grabbed one of her breasts in his mouth and sucked on it like a baby. Gabriella moaned in pleasure.

"Troy," she gasped.

Troy knew that she was about to come but, just could not make it. He started meeting her with every thrust. Gabriella pushed him back onto the bed and she fell back too. Her weight was on her hands which kept her holding up so that she could still see Troy's face. Troy could see his cock going through into her vagina and thought that it was the most amazing sight ever. Gabriella leaned forward again and moved up and down again. Troy met her thrusts and within seconds they were screaming out each other's names as they climaxed.

"Whoa," Troy said, breathlessly. "That was…whoa!"

Gabriella who had fallen on top of Troy when she had come got up. She lay down next to Troy.

"That was the most amazing sex ever!" Troy declared and Gabriella giggled.

They dozed off. Gabriella woke up around an hour later. She looked out of the window and could not see Max's car anywhere and knew that he was not back yet. She searched through her closet. As she was doing so, Troy woke up. He saw Gabriella's naked butt sticking out of her closet as she kneeled down to go through one of her drawers. He grinned.

"What are you looking for?" he called.

"Something that would turn you on," Gabriella called back.

"The view I'm getting is just enough," Troy said, grinning.

Gabriella got up, finally finding what she had been searching for.

"Don't stop," Troy said.

Gabriella just smirked at him and walked to the bathroom. She put an extra shake in her hips as she walked. Troy stared after her, as his cock became rock hard again. He arranged the sheets to hide it. Gabriella walked out of the bathroom minutes later. Troy was sitting up against the pillows with his hands behind his head. He looked so sexy that Gabriella felt like jumping into the bed with him, but, she wanted to pleasure him.

Gabriella put on some music and slowly walked towards the bed. She stayed in front of Troy and moved in time for the music. She shook her hip from side to side as she pulled off the small red lace coat she had on. She through it across the room and it landed…she did not know where it went. She turned her back on Troy and undid her bra strap. It was all red and lacy and she was wearing matching panties as well. She pulled down the straps slowly down her shoulders. Then, she turned around. Now, she was holding her bra in place. She took it off slowly and through it at Troy.

"Am I doing anything to you?" she asked seductively.

"Nope," Troy answered coolly although he was fighting off the urge to grab her and kiss her or maybe even pump his hands up and down his cock.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. She pulled down her panties off slowly and threw it straight at Troy's face. Troy tossed it onto the floor where it landed next to Gabriella's bra.

"So, nothing?" she asked.

"Nothing," he repeated.

"Right," Gabriella rolled her eyes again.

She climbed onto the bed with her legs on either side of Troy's legs. She was sitting near his knees.

"You know what I'm going to do, Troy?" she asked in a low sexy voice.

"What?" Troy asked, gulping.

"I'm going to play with myself and see if I do anything to you," she replied.

Troy's eyes widened as Gabriella began stroking her breasts. She pushed them together and moved her chest closer to Troy's face so all he could see was her cleavage. Troy leaned forward and kissed one of her nipples before Gabriella went back to her old position. Slowly, Gabriella ran her fingers down her chest and played with her belly button ring, before going to her opening. Troy was gaping at her.

All of a sudden, she leaned towards him and tightened the sheets around his waist revealing the tent underneath.

"Nothing, huh?" she smirked.

"Continue what you were doing before, will you?" Troy begged.

"Here's the deal," Gabriella said. "I'll play with myself, if you play with yourself."

"Fine," Troy said.

Gabriella pulled the sheet off Troy's waist and saw his erection. She pushed a finger in through her opening as Troy wrapped his fingers around his cock. His eyes were on her opening as he pumped his hands up and down. Gabriella put in two more fingers and moved them as fast as she could. Troy felt his climax nearing and came, spilling his seed onto Gabriella's bed. Gabriella was panting, but, she could not get there.

"Need some help?" Troy asked, grinning.

He moved towards her and removed her hand. Then, he thrust into her and she came immediately. He continued to move in and out of her until they came, again. Troy pulled out of her and smiled at her lovingly. He stroked her cheek as she caught her breath and then he kissed her, gently.

"I love you," he said, softly. "Never forget that."

"I love you, too, Troy," Gabriella smiled.

Gabriella kissed Troy again and then got up. She got dressed.

"Where are you going?" Troy asked as she headed towards the door.

"I haven't eaten anything since I woke up," she replied. "I'm going to get something to eat. Do you want something?"

"No, thanks," Troy said. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, it's okay," Gabriella smiled and walked out of the room.

Troy got up and pulled on his boxers. Then, he fell back onto the pillows and fell asleep almost immediately.

After eating, Gabriella went back upstairs. She smiled when she saw Troy asleep. She walked over to the bed and looked at him for a while. She was lucky to have a boyfriend who was so loving and so caring _and so hot _at the same time. She got into bed next to him and lay down with her head resting on his bare chest. Immediately, she was wrapped in Troy's arm. He was still asleep and had done it instinctively. Gabriella traced Troy's well-defined muscles with her finger and fell asleep as well.


	7. Chapter 7

That afternoon, Troy and Gabriella went out together with Max and Chad Danforth. They went to the mall so that they could rent tuxes and buy a dress for Gabriella for the homecoming dance. Max and Gabriella had thought of skipping it, but, Troy and Chad persuaded them to go, since they knew that it would get their minds off things. They dropped Gabriella off at the dress shop and the three boys went towards the shop for tuxes.

"So, who are you guys taking to the dance?" Troy asked Chad and Max.

"I'm taking Taylor McKessie," Chad said with a proud grin.

"Good for you," Troy grinned slapping five with Chad. "You've been crushing on her for weeks. How'd you manage to ask her?"

"I don't know," Chad said, frowning. "You're my lab partner and Gabriella and Taylor are lab partners, too. Since you two weren't in school, the teacher paired us up and we started talking and the next thing I know, she's telling me to pick her up at seven."

"So, you're saying, you should thank Troy and Gabriella for your date?" Max asked, with a smile.

"Exactly," Chad said. "I love you, Troy."

"I love you, too, Chad," Troy said, going along with Chad's gay act.

"And, I love you both," Max grinned throwing his arms around the two.

"Um…excuse me?" a voice said.

The three turned and saw the salesgirl staring at them.

"Hi," Troy said, sticking out his hand to the girl as Max and Chad tried not to laugh. "We want to rent tuxes for Saturday night."

"Of course," the girl said with a strange look. "My name is Alicia and I'll be with you in just a moment."

Alicia turned towards an American-African girl.

"You know what," the three boys heard Alicia whisper. "I think those guys are gay."

The dark girl looked up and Chad's eyes widened.

"Taylor!" he exclaimed. "Hey! You know Max and Troy, right?"

"You're gay?" Taylor asked.

"No!" Chad said, frantically. "I'm not gay! That was all just an act. We were just…"

"Cut him some slack, Tay," Troy said. "He's really happy he got a date with you. We were just messing around."

"Yeah," Max said as Chad nodded vigorously. "All we did was say 'I love you' to each other and exchange a hug."

"What?" Taylor asked, as the corners of her mouth started lifting up into a smile.

"Come on, Taylor," Max said. "When girls do it, it's nothing. When guys do it, it's gay? That is not fair."

Taylor laughed, "I'll see you later, Chad."

"Bye," Chad smiled waving at her.

"So, you aren't gay?" Alicia asked.

"Yeah, we aren't," Chad said. "But, what was Taylor doing here? This is a guys' shop."

"She works here," Alicia answered. "She just finished her shift."

"I should rent tuxes more often," Chad said. "Why can't they have a dance every week?"

"Oh, so you're getting ready for the homecoming dance Taylor was talking about?" Alicia asked leading them to the tuxes.

"Yeah," Max answered. "Do you go to East High?"

"No," Alicia answered. "I'm homeschooled. I've never been to a dance or anything. I'd love to go to one, though."

"Hey, why don't you come with me?" Max asked. "I'd really like to get to know you better and I won't be dateless."

"I'd love to," Alicia smiled.

When Max and Chad had gone to change into their tuxes, Troy turned to Alicia.

"Look," Troy said.

"Max's your friend and I shouldn't do anything to hurt him?" Alicia asked with a smile.

"Nah," Troy said, smiling at her reply. "I just wanted to tell you that Max is one of the most popular guys in school and all the girls just might start throwing themselves at him, so, I thought I should warn you beforehand."

"Thanks," Alicia smiled. "But, I'll be fine."

Troy nodded and went into one of the dressing rooms, too.

* * *

**A/N Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews =) Hope you like this chapter as well **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N I actually wrote this a long time back, but some of you reviewed about wanting to read about the dance, so I thought I'd wait till I've written something about the dance, but that never happened. However, I've written the rest of the story and I'll upload all of it tonight. So, you can just imagine everything went smoothly in the dance and there weren't any problems. Troy and Gabriella dances together, but they spend the night acting as friends so that Max doesn't suspect anything. Anyway, enjoy reading :)**

* * *

Saturday arrived. Gabriella spent most of the day with Taylor and Alicia getting ready. Taylor had introduced her to Alicia and the three of them became good friends. By the time it was time to go, all the three guys were in their tuxes waiting for their dates at the bottom of the stairs at the Montez house. The three guys had pitched in money and rented a limousine, wanting to make the night special for their dates. The first one to come down was Alicia. She had tied her long silky black hair up in a French twist and was wearing a long red dress. Max smiled and held up his arm and she slid her arm through his. Taylor came next. She was wearing a conservative dress which reached her knees and was wearing a headband. She slipped her hand through Chad's arm and smiled. Gabriella came down, looking absolutely gorgeous in her black strapless dress which reached her ankles.

"You look beautiful," Troy told her softly as they followed the other couples outside.

The three girls stared at the limousine when they saw it. Then, they looked at the guys with questioning eyes.

"Surprise!" Chad smiled.

"We wanted it to be special," Max said. "I did this for you, Alicia, knowing that you've never had an experience like this."

"I did this for you because I want our first date to be special," Troy whispered to Gabriella softly so that only she could hear.


	9. Chapter 9

Gabriella spent the most of the following week throwing up. Every time she got up after sitting down or lying down, everything started going black and she had to sit down again. She did not tell either Max or Troy about any of this.

Gabriella was also beginning to get over the accident. She was almost back to her usual self and Troy was glad. Max was the same as before, too. Although they never talked about Maria, Troy knew that they missed her, especially Gabriella. Troy still slept over at Gabriella's until around five in the morning and then, he would climb down the tree outside Gabriella's balcony and go home before Jack woke up.

On Thursday afternoon at school, right after the last bell had rung, Troy was passing Gabriella's locker, when he noticed her standing a few feet away from it talking to Taylor McKessie. He saw her sway on the spot. The books fell out of her hands and Taylor bent down to pick them up for her. He saw her falling and he ran towards her. He fell onto his knees halfway there and slid towards her. He managed to grab her just before she hit the floor.

"Brie," he said. "Brie, wake up! Come on."

"What happened?" Chad Danforth asked rushing up to them.

"I don't know," Troy said, worriedly. "Get my dad."

Chad nodded and ran towards the gym. Taylor called an ambulance. Jack appeared a few minutes later.

"What happened?" he asked kneeling down next to Troy.

"I don't know," Troy repeated. "She fainted."

Troy looked around and saw a crowd gathering towards them. The person he wanted to see was not there.

"Someone go and get Max Montez!" he called.

"He's not here," Zeke Baylor said. "He went home sick. I've tried calling him, but, his phone's switched off."

Troy nodded. The ambulance arrived a while later. Troy got into it after Gabriella. Jack told that he would follow in his car.

Half an hour after arriving in the hospital, the doctor walked over to Troy and Jack with some news. They had been unable to reach Max.

"Miss Montez is awake," the doctor said. "She's in room 108. I'll be there in a minute with her test results."

Troy and Jack hurried to the room and Troy immediately hugged Gabriella.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Miss Montez," the doctor said walking into the room. "I have your results right here. It seems like you're one week pregnant."

"What?" Jack, Gabriella and Troy asked at the same time.

"You're pregnant," the doctor said. "Congratulations."

Jack had no idea what to say. Neither did Troy. He walked over to the window and stared out of it.

"Gabi, are you okay?" Jack asked. "Don't cry, Gabi. Everything will work out."

Troy turned around and saw that Gabriella was crying, silently. He hurried over to her and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"Who's the father?" Jack asked Gabriella.

Gabriella did not say anything. Troy gulped. He stared at Jack without saying a word.

"You?" Jack asked Troy. "I'm becoming a grandfather?"

Troy nodded. They sat silently for a few minutes.

"Jack," Gabriella said, through her tears. "Can you please not tell Max about this?"

"I don't think that's the best idea," Jack told Gabriella, gently. "He'll be really hurt when he finds out and he is going to find out eventually. You can't hide a baby from him when you live in the same house."

"I know," Gabriella said. "And, I will tell him. But, first I have to tell him that Troy and I are dating. He's going to flip." 

"I suggest you tell him soon," Jack said. "But, until then, I won't say anything."

"Thank you," Gabriella said with a small smile.

After dropping Gabriella off at her house, Troy and Jack went home together. Troy had wanted to stay with Gabriella, but, she assured him that she will be fine. Troy and Jack were quiet on the ride home.

"Dad," Troy said after the entered the house.

"What is it, Troy?" Jack asked.

"I…I'm sorry," Troy said.

"I was in that position when I was in high school," Jack told Troy. "I know how it feels."

"Thanks, dad," Troy said as Jack gave him a hug.

Jack turned to walk into the kitchen, when Troy realized something.

"Dad," he said and Jack turned around. "Didn't you and mom meet after college?"

Jack froze. Troy realized that Jack was not telling him something.

"Dad," Troy said again.

"Okay, fine," Jack said. "You need to know this."

"Tell me," Troy said following Jack into the kitchen.

"I did meet your mom after college," Jack said. "But, I also dated in high school. And, there was one girl I was in love with. She was perfect. I hadn't felt like that about anyone. We started dating and one thing led to another and she got pregnant. By then, I had received a full scholarship to the University of Albuquerque and I told her some things that I regret even today. I told her that I didn't want to stay with her playing daddy and that I didn't want to have the baby. I told her to get an abortion." 

"Dad," Troy said. "That was really low."

"I know," Jack said. "And, that was the end of us. After college, I went to see her again. She was living alone with her son. His name is Justin. He's seven years older than you. She refused to let me talk to him although she had given him my name. She didn't even want to listen to me. And, then I met your mother. And we got married."

"Did she know about Justin?" Troy asked.

"Of course, she did," Jack replied. "She knew that I still loved Angeline and she didn't mind."

"Wait a second," Troy said. "When you say Angeline, do you mean Miss Angeline Kent?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "I am talking about your history teacher."

"So, is that why she always disliked me?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Jack said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this earlier."

"It's okay, dad," Troy said getting up. "I'll see you later."

"Where are you going?" Jack asked.

"Don't be mad," Troy said. "But, I'm going to see if I can find Justin. And, maybe, I might talk to Miss Kent, too."

Jack did not say anything and Troy went out. He got into his car and drove towards Angeline's house.

Troy stared at the house from his car. He hesitated before going to the house and ringing the doorbell. Angeline opened the door and glared at Troy when she saw that it was him.

"What do you want Mr. Bolton?" Angeline asked.

"I…uh…I was wondering if we could talk?" Troy said uncertainly.

Angeline hesitated before opening the door. She stood aside to let him in. Angeline led Troy to the living room and gestured him to sit down.

"I can't say I haven't been expecting you," Angeline said after a moment of silence. "Although, I thought you would come by sooner than this."

"I only knew about everything a moment ago," Troy replied. "My dad told me just now."

Angeline nodded. Troy looked around awkwardly and noticed a picture of a boy who looked exactly like him, but, just a bit older.

"Is that…Justin?" Troy asked pointing to the picture.

"Yes," Angeline said.

"Does he know about me?" he asked.

"Yes," Angeline said again.

"Why do you talk to me like that?" Troy asked.

"Like what?" Angeline asked.

"Like I'm…I don't know," Troy said. "It seems like you're blaming everything my dad did on me. That's not fair."

"I talk to you the same way I talk to my other students," she protested.

"Right," Troy rolled her eyes. "That's why every time I don't pay attention, you send me to detention. If someone else isn't paying attention, you just tell them off. You don't give them detention."

Angeline did not say anything for a minute. Then…

"I'm sorry," she said. "But, you have no idea how hard it was for Justin to grow up with just one parent."

"I may not know what it's like to grow up without one parent," Troy said. "But, I know how hard it is to lose one."

"What?" Angeline asked, confused.

"My mom died last year," Troy explained. "You probably didn't know it because you came here only this year."

"I'm sorry," Angeline said again.

"It's okay," Troy shrugged. "But, you ought to know that my dad still loves you. He loved you even when he married my mom."

"What?" Angeline looked surprised.

"My mom knew that he loved you and she was okay with it," he went on. "I…I think maybe you should give him another chance."

"It's not often that a boy wants his father to go out with someone other than his mother," Angeline said.

"My mom's dead," Troy said. "And, I know that my dad gets lonely at times even though he doesn't say so. I want my dad to be happy."

"You're a nice boy, Troy," she smiled. "Your father must be proud of you and I'm sure your mother is proud of you, too."

Troy just nodded. He got up and held out his hand to Angeline.

"I'll see you later, Miss Kent," he smiled.

"Call me Angeline," Angeline said shaking his hand. "At least when we aren't at school."

Troy nodded and walked towards the door. Just as he was about to open it, someone opened it from the outside. He stepped back in order to let the man in.

"Justin?" Troy asked looking at the man who entered the house.

"Troy?" Justin asked.

Troy nodded. Justin frowned at Troy.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "You and your father aren't welcome here."

"I'm sorry," Troy said as Justin pushed his way past him into the house.

"Troy, wait," Angeline called as Troy walked out of the door and he turned. "Justin hasn't forgiven Jack yet. He doesn't like his name either."

Troy just nodded and walked out. He ran his fingers through his hair as he got into his car. He did not start driving first. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the steering wheel. Suddenly, he heard a knock on his window. He looked up and saw Justin staring at him. He opened the window.

"Look, Troy," Justin said. "I'm sorry for my rudeness, okay? I just…I don't think I'm ready to forgive my father just yet."

"He loves your mother, you know," Troy said.

"Then, why did he go and marry your mother?" Justin asked.

"Because your mom turned him down," Troy said. "He came back after college to see her and she refused to listen to him. I told him what he did to you guys was really low and I'm really sorry. So is my dad. Just give him a chance, will you?"

"I'll think about it," Justin said. "But, in the meantime, we're good, right?"

"Yeah," Troy smiled shaking Justin's hand.

"And, Troy," Justin said. "I'm getting married next month. You'll come, right?"

"Sure," Troy replied.

"Do you want meet my fiancée?" Justin asked after a minute.

"Yeah," Troy smiled.

"My car's in the shop," Justin said. "There's a problem with the brakes."

"Get in," Troy said.

Justin smiled and got into the passenger seat. Troy followed Justin's direction and was soon standing in front of Chad Danforth's house.

"Wait a second," Troy said. "Don't tell me your fiancée is my best friend's sister."

"You know Chad?" Justin asked.

"Yeah," Troy answered. "He's one of my best friends."

"I see," Justin said. "How come I never saw you before then? I come here quite a lot."

"Chad and I usually hang out at my place because he doesn't want to see his sister 'stick her tongue down someone's throat'," Troy grinned.

Justin laughed and rang the doorbell. Chad's sister, Jessica opened the door.

"Hey, Justin," she smiled. Then, she looked at Troy. "Chad's not here."

"Actually, he's here to meet you," Justin said. "Jess, meet my brother, Troy Bolton."

"Oh," Jessica said. "It's nice to meet you, Troy. Why haven't I met you before?" 

"Um…it's complicated," Troy grinned.

"But, not anymore," Justin said. "He's my brother and he's going to be a part of my life."

"Thanks, Justin," Troy smiled.

Troy glanced at his watch. It was almost half past six.

"Listen," he told Justin. "I have to go."

"Where are you going?" Justin asked. "I was hoping you and Jessica could get to know each other."

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Troy said. "I just…I want to visit my mother before I go home."

"Where is she?" Justin frowned.

"She's…uh…in the cemetery," Troy said. "She died last year, so…I'll see you later."

"Wait," Justin said. "Give me your number."

Justin handed Troy his phone and Troy punched in his number as Justin did the same to his phone.

"Give me a call if you need anything," Justin told Troy.

"Thanks," Troy said.

Troy headed towards the cemetery and sat down by his mother's grave.

"So, I have a brother," Troy said. "Both you and dad knew about this and didn't tell me? That sucks, mom. Anyway, I told you that Brie and I got together, but, the thing is, it's been only a week and she's pregnant. I know. I should've been more careful. I'm sorry, mom. I just don't know what to do anymore."

Troy rubbed his forehead trying to get rid of his headache. He was dead scared of what was going to happen. He was not even ready to be a father.

"I'm scared, mom," Troy said. His voice was shaky. "I'm becoming a dad and our baby's not even going to have a grandmother. I don't know how to do this. I don't think I'm even ready to start a family. Max doesn't even know it yet, but he's going to have a niece or a nephew in nine months."

Troy did not know what happened. His headache got worse and he blacked out.


	10. Chapter 10

"Troy!" a voice said, urgently. "Troy, wake up."

Troy opened his eyes. A pair of blue eyes was staring down at him.

"Justin?" he asked.

"Yeah," Justin replied. The relief in his voice was obvious. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know," Troy said. "Blacked out, I guess. I need some aspirin."

"Let's get you home," Justin said, pulling Troy to his feet.

"I can't drive," Troy said, handing Justin his keys. "The headache's too much."

"Okay," Justin said. "But, it's been a while since I've driven a car. I've been using my bike mostly and I'm a little rusty."

"You said your car's in the garage," Troy said following Justin to his car.

"My mom uses it mostly," Justin answered.

Troy nodded and got into the passenger seat. Justin got into the driver's seat and started the car. He drove towards the main road. It was quite empty. Justin stopped at a red light. Troy was resting his head against the window and he had his eyes closed.

"Are you okay?" Justin asked.

"Lot's happened today," Troy said looking at him. "My girlfriend, who happens to be my best friend's sister, is pregnant and we haven't even told her brother that we were dating. And her mom died last week and today my dad tells me about you."

Justin nodded. The light turned green and Justin drove forward. Both brothers heard a loud horn and they looked to see a truck coming straight towards their car. It was on Justin's side of the car.

"Justin, watch out!" he yelled.

Justin was currently blinded by the truck's bright lights. Troy leaned over and grabbed the wheel. He steered it wildly and the car spun around missing the truck by inches.

"Justin, brakes! Hit the brakes!" Troy shouted and Justin slammed on the brakes.

The screech was loud and clear. So was the crash. Troy's side of the car hit a tree which was on the side of the road. The side of Troy's car was smashed. Justin was not hurt even a bit. The airbags had blown up, preventing anything from happening to him, but Troy was not so lucky. Slightly shaken up, Justin looked up.

"Troy," he said.

When there was no answer, Justin looked around. The side of Troy's head was bleeding from where he had hit the window. His hand was twisted in a horrible angle.

"Troy!" Justin exclaimed.

Justin unbuckled his seatbelt and Troy's as well. He looked around. The truck was nowhere in sight. There were no other vehicles about, either. Justin jumped out of the car and ran to Troy's side of the car. The door was crushed and loose. Justin saw some flames on the back of the car and a fuel leakage.

"Troy!" Justin yelled pulling the door away from the car. "This thing's going to blow up."

Troy had not fainted. However, he was too badly injured to move on his own. Justin grabbed Troy's arm – the one which was not twisted – and threw it over his shoulder. Then, he helped Troy out of the car and they managed to get to the middle of the road before Troy passed out. Justin held onto Troy and dragged him to the other side of the road. He and Troy fell to the ground together as the car blew up.

With shaking hands, Justin dialed the police. Then, he called an ambulance. They arrived at the same time. As the paramedics started treating Troy, the police asked Justin a few questions. When the paramedics put Troy into the ambulance, Justin ignored the police's questions and jumped into the ambulance with Troy. He sent a message to his mother and after taking Jack's number from Troy's phone he sent a message to him as well, telling them both to go to the hospital.

By the time they got to the hospital, Jack was already there. Angeline was just walking into the hospital, when the paramedics pushed past her with Troy on a bed into the emergency room. A doctor hurried over to Justin as Angeline rushed over to him as well.

"He's going to need surgery," the doctor told Justin.

"Do it, then," Justin answered.

"Are you his legal guardian?" the doctor asked.

"He's my brother," Justin said.

"I'm his father," Jack said hurrying over to them. "Do the surgery. Do whatever it takes to make sure that he's alright."

The doctor nodded and hurried to the emergency room, too.

"What happened?" Angeline asked Justin frantically hugging him.

"I went to see Troy and Jack said he was not home," Justin replied. "I figured that he was at the cemetery and I went to see him there. He had passed out. He said that he had a headache and that he couldn't drive. I told him that since I mostly used my bike I was a bit rusty and he said that it was okay. Then, there was this truck. It ran through a red light straight towards me. Troy grabbed the wheel and turned the car around. I guess it was spinning because the next thing I knew was that the airbags had blown up and the car had crashed into a tree. Troy's side of the car was smashed. He was awake then. He got to the middle of the road and then he passed out. I managed to get him to the other side of the road before the car blew up. Then, I called the police and the ambulance and then I texted you guys."

"Because of your son, my son was in an accident," Angeline screamed at Jack.

"Mom," Justin said before Jack could say anything. "It wasn't Troy's fault. If anything, I should say that it was mine. I was the one behind the wheel."

"But, Troy pulled the steering wheel and turned the car," Angeline protested.

"If he hadn't, that truck would have hit me!" Justin snapped. "If Troy hadn't turned the wheel, I would be the one taken into the emergency room, not Troy! He saved me, mom. Just accept it."

"For the record, Angeline," Jack said. "Both of them are my sons."

Before Angeline could say anything more, Jack pulled out his cell phone and called Gabriella. He explained to her what had happened. She told that she would be at the hospital with Max in a minute. Jack put his cell phone into his pocket and turned to Angeline.

"Ange, I'm sorry," Jack said. "I'm sorry for everything that went down between us. It was twenty five years ago."

"I forgave you the day you came back, Jack," Angeline said. "But, I was just too stubborn to show it."

"Yeah, about that," Justin said. "Why didn't you tell me that he came back?"

"I don't know," Angeline said. "I'm sorry, Justin."

"It's fine," Justin said. "At least, I'm hoping that my dad will forgive me for not talking to him for the past twenty five years."

"I was hoping you would forgive me for the twenty five years that I wasn't in your life," Jack smiled.

Jack and Justin exchanged a hug. And, then, Angeline fell into Jack's arms. Justin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I'm going to call Jessica," he said and walked towards the chairs.

A few minutes later Max and Gabriella arrived. Gabriella was nearly in tears and Max's face was tense. Jack saw them and pulled himself away from Angeline. He hurried over to them and gave Gabriella a hug.

"What happened?" Max asked and Jack repeated Justin's story.

"Troy has a brother?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes," Jack said and gestured to Justin. "That is Justin Bolton."

"He's your son?" Max asked and Jack nodded.

"He is Miss Kent's son, too," Jack said.

"Is Troy going to be okay?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't know," Jack replied. "All we can do is wait for the doctor to come with the news, but, it's okay if you go and get some rest."

"I'll stay," Gabriella said, immediately.

Jack nodded and went to sit by Angeline. Max and Gabriella sat together. Justin saw them and walked over to them.

"I'm Justin Bolton," he said.

"Gabriella Montez," Gabriella smiled. "This is my brother Max."

Justin nodded. He remembered how Troy had told that Gabriella was pregnant.

"Listen," Justin said. "I'm going to get some coffee. Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure," Gabriella shrugged.

"I'd rather you didn't," Max said.

"The overprotective brother," Justin grinned. "No worries, dude. I just want to talk to her. I'm engaged to Chad Danforth's sister."

"Small world," Gabriella said getting up.

She followed Justin to the coffee house in the hospital.

"Five coffees please," Justin told the waitress.

"Sure," the waitress said, batting her eyelashes at Justin who rolled his eyes at her.

"I'm guessing you're Troy's girlfriend," Justin said, turning to Gabriella.

"How'd you know?" Gabriella asked.

"Troy told me," he answered. "He told me that you were pregnant and also that Max doesn't know about you guys."

"Yeah," Gabriella said.

"Don't worry," Justin smiled, taking out some cash to pay for the coffee. "I won't tell him."

"Hey, wait," Gabriella said. "I'll pay for half."

"It's my treat," Justin smiled. "I like you, Gabriella. I don't know Troy all that well, but, from what I know about him and you, you guys belong together."

Gabriella smiled shyly and grabbed two cups of coffee as Justin gave the girl her cash. The girl took the money from him and as she gave him the balance, she gave a paper with her number on it. Justin glanced at it and gave it back to her again.

"I think this is yours," Justin said, smoothly as Gabriella stifled a giggle.

"It's a gift for you," the girl said, coolly. "My name's Barbara and that's my number, so call me, will you?"

"Okay," Justin said. "Firstly, I'm engaged. Secondly, I don't like people who just give me their number without bothering to find out my name. Thirdly, I'm not that desperate. Fourthly, I don't like you because you're so desperate. And, last but not least, I don't like people who bat their eyelashes at me. So, no, I will not call you."

Gabriella burst out laughing at that and Barbara glared at her as Justin balanced the three cups in his hands. She followed him out.

"That was awesome," she said. "I like you, Justin."

Gabriella was still smiling when they went back to the waiting room. She went and sat next to Max. Justin went over to Jack and Angeline to give them their coffee.

"Thank you, Justin," Jack smiled taking the cup from him. "And, thank you for Gabriella, too."

"What do you mean?" Justin asked.

"Her mother died a couple of days ago and she haven't smiled or laughed as much as she used to," Jack replied.

"Oh," Justin shrugged. "I didn't do anything actually. She just found the way I turned down the waitress at the coffee shop amusing."

"Looks like you and Troy are the same," Jack said. "He's turning down waitresses all the time, too."

Justin smiled and got up as Jessica walked towards him. He walked towards her and she hugged him. He gave her a quick kiss before leading her towards an empty corner in the waiting room.

Two hours later, the doctor walked over to them. Gabriella had got tired of Max ignoring her whenever she said anything and had gone and joined Justin and Jessica. An hour ago, she had fallen asleep on Justin's shoulder.

"Troy Bolton?" the doctor asked and Jack got up immediately.

"Is he okay?" Jack asked as Max and Angeline joined him.

"He's going to be alright," the doctor answered. "He should be awake in an hour or two. He won't be able to walk properly for a few weeks. He had fractured his legs really badly, so, he'll need to use crutches for a week. After that, he'll be able to manage without the crutches, but, it will be a few weeks before he can start walking the way he used to. I mean, he's going to have a limp for a few weeks."

"Thank you, doctor," Jack said, shaking the doctor's hand.

Jack, Angeline and Max followed the doctor to Troy's room. Justin shook Gabriella awake.

"Gabi, wake up," he said softly.

Gabriella sat up properly, rubbing her eyes.

"Troy's okay," Jessica told her. "He'll be up in an hour or two."

Gabriella's face lit up when she heard Jessica's words. She got up and the three went to Troy's room, together.


	11. Chapter 11

Three months later, Troy and Gabriella were still going strong. They had been able to keep everything from Max. Gabriella was starting to show and she had started to wear loose shirts. Troy had recovered fully after the accident and was playing basketball again. He had made a quick recovery and Gabriella was happy. Troy and Gabriella had decided to tell Max everything over the coming weekend. Both of them were very nervous about this. Angeline had also moved in with Jack and Jessica had moved into her old home with Justin.

Prom and graduation was also nearing. They had taken their exams and had passed. Gabriella was top in the class. There was a month till prom and graduation and Gabriella was planning on skipping because she would be pregnant. However, Troy wanted to take her.

On a Friday morning, just after everyone had disappeared into the cafeteria for lunch, Max stormed out of the cafeteria angrily. He had heard some news that he did not like and wanted to know if it was true. He spotted Gabriella at the end of the hallway. She was putting her books into her locker.

"Gabriella!" he yelled striding towards her.

"Max, what's wrong?" Gabriella asked as he got nearer.

"I just heard from Emma Johnson that you're pregnant," he said. "She said she overheard you speaking on the phone to someone in the bathroom. Is that true? Are you pregnant?"

"Look, Max," Gabriella said. "Don't be mad."

"So, you are pregnant!" Max yelled. "How could you not tell me?"

At that moment, Troy turned around the corner and saw the twins. He walked over to them.

"Because I knew you would react the same way as you are doing right now," Troy heard Gabriella say.

"What's going on?" Troy asked, hoping to put a stop to the argument knowing that Gabriella should not be stressed.

"Gabriella went and got herself knocked up!" Max snapped. "Who's the father of this kid anyway?" 

"Um…"Gabriella did not know what to say.

"That would be me," Troy said.

"What?" Max yelled.

"Max, calm down," Gabriella pleaded stepping closer to her brother.

"Get away from me, Gabriella," Max snapped pushing Gabriella away. "You lied to me. Both of you lied to me!"

Troy caught Gabriella before she fell to the ground. He steadied her and then turned to face Max.

"Are you crazy?" Troy asked Max shoving him backwards. "She's pregnant. She could lose the baby if you do that."

Max did not say anything. He knew what he had done was wrong. Gabriella was in tears by then. She turned and ran towards the stairs to get away from her brother.

Both Troy and Max heard Gabriella scream. They both turned immediately to see Gabriella trip and fall down the stairs.

"Brie!" Troy yelled, alarmed.

Both boys ran towards the stairs. Gabriella lay at the bottom of the stairs face down. They raced down the stairs together. Troy turned Gabriella around and hugged her close to his chest as Max called an ambulance. There was a cut on Gabriella's forehead, and the blood from it smeared onto Troy's shirt.

"Come on, Brie," Troy whispered softly as his hand slid down to her stomach. "Wake up, pretty girl."

Max knelt down next to them and reached over to take Gabriella's hand, but, Troy pushed his hand away.

"You've done enough to her already," he snapped.

Max withdrew his hand. Troy was mad at him and he knew he had done wrong. The ambulance arrived a few minutes later. Troy drove in the ambulance with Gabriella. Once at the hospital, Gabriella was taken to the emergency room. Troy called Jack who arrived with Angeline a few minutes later. Max had followed the ambulance in his car. Justin also came to the hospital with Jessica.

"Gabriella Montez," the doctor said walking into the waiting room.

Troy jumped up and walked over to the doctor.

"Is she okay?" Troy asked.

"Gabriella's fine," the doctor said.

"And, the baby?" Troy asked.

"I'm sorry," the doctor said. "But, she lost the baby."

Troy froze when he heard this.

"I'll take you to see her," the doctor told Troy and he nodded.

Troy followed the doctor to Gabriella's room. The others were right behind Troy. They had not heard what the doctor said. When they walked into the room, Gabriella's eyes were closed.

"She'll wake up in a few minutes," the doctor assured them. "She'll be fine."

Troy went and sat down on the chair next to Gabriella's bed. He took her hand and squeezed it slightly. They all waited in silence till Gabriella woke up ten minutes later.

"Brie," Troy sighed in relief when he saw her open her eyes.

"Troy," Gabriella smiled.

Troy gave her a small smile in return.

"I'm glad you're okay, pretty girl," he said, softly and kissed her hand.

"Guys, I'm really sorry," Max said stepping over to them. "I shouldn't have acted the way I did."

"It's okay," Gabriella said as Max sat down on the other side of the bed and hugged her.

"And, I'm going to be the best uncle your baby's ever had," he smiled.

"You're going to be the only uncle our baby's going to have," Gabriella laughed.

"You're forgetting about Justin," Max reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," Gabriella smiled. "It'll be a competition between the two of you."

Troy did not say a word. He did not know how to break the news to Gabriella. She was so happy to have Max back and they were talking about the baby. Jack noticed Troy's silence.

"Troy, what's wrong?" Jack asked, frowning and immediately everyone turned to look at him. "Is everything okay with the baby?"

"Brie," Troy said, softly as he got up and sat next to her on the bed.

"Troy, what happened?" Gabriella asked as he put his arm around her. "Our baby's okay, right?"

"Brie," he said again. "We lost the baby."

Gabriella froze in Troy's arms. He hugged her close to him. She did not say a word. She did not even cry.

"Gabi, are you okay?" Max asked.

Gabriella did not say a word. She buried her face in Troy's shirt and started crying, softly. Troy hugged her close to him. Everyone in the room was silent. Troy felt a single tear roll down his cheek. He did not even bother to wipe it away. He didn't want to move his hands away from Gabriella. He closed his eyes as he rested his chin on her forehead. No one knew how long they stayed there in silence. It was broken when the doctor walked into the room.

"Excuse me, Miss Montez," the doctor said. "I know this is a difficult time for you, but, I would like to talk to you about your health."

"Can Troy stay?" Gabriella asked as she wiped away her tears with one hand while clutching onto Troy's hand with the other one.

"Of course," the doctor said.

Everyone else left the room leaving Troy and Gabriella alone with the doctor to talk.

"Miss Montez, I must say I'm extremely worried about your health," the doctor said.

"Please, call me Gabriella," Gabriella said.

"What's wrong with her health?" Troy asked.

"She needs to take more fluids," the doctor explained. "She's also, I must say, a bit underweight for her age. I would like you to come back for a check-up in two weeks."

"Okay," Gabriella said. "When can I go home?"

"You are free to go home even now," the doctor said. "But, I think it would be better if you stayed the night."

"I'm going home," Gabriella said.

"No, you aren't," Troy said. "You're staying here tonight. I'll stay with you if you want."

"I'm not staying in this hospital longer than I have to," Gabriella told Troy as the doctor left. "I've spent far too much time here already."

"Brie," Troy said.

"Troy," Gabriella said imitating his tone.

Troy sighed knowing that she was not going to change her mind. He threw his head back and took a deep breath. He opened her mouth to say something, but, decided against it when he saw her face. So, instead of saying it, he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips.

"Oh, boy," they heard Max groan and they pulled apart.

"I love you, Brie," Troy said, softly.

"Troy, can I talk to you?" Max asked.

"I'll be back in a bit," Troy told Gabriella. "I'll tell my dad to settle all the paperwork, okay?"

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled.

Troy gave her a quick peck and followed Max out of the room. Justin and Jessica entered the room. Troy asked Jack to settle the paperwork. The two boys went towards the soda machine.

"Troy, I'm sorry," Max said. "I know all this is my fault. It's my fault that you guys lost the baby and –"

"It's not your fault," Troy interrupted.

"No, it is," Max protested. "If I hadn't yelled at her, she wouldn't have run off and fallen down the stairs."

"If you hadn't yelled, Max, you wouldn't have been the overprotective brother that you are," Troy said. "And that means you wouldn't have been who you really are. Don't blame yourself for all of this. It's not your fault. Maybe Brie and I weren't ready to be parents. Maybe that's why we lost the baby. I'm pretty sure we're going to have kids some day, but, I guess right now's not the time for us. Don't blame yourself, Max. It's not your fault."

Max stared at Troy for a minute. Troy stared back.

"You love her, right?" Max said.

"Yeah," Troy answered, shrugging.

"Don't hurt her," Max said.

"I won't," Troy promised.

When the two walked back into the room, Gabriella was arguing with Angeline, Justin and Jessica.

"Look, I'm not going to stay here the night, okay?" Gabriella snapped. "By staying here, I won't be able to have a big pint of ice cream and be depressed by myself. And, all I want to do right now is lie on my own bed with some ice cream."

Troy sensed that Gabriella was going to break down any second and walked over to her. He sat on the bed, next to her and hugged her.

"Brie, calm down," he said, softly.

"If I bring a pint of ice cream for you, will you stay here?" Max asked.

"No!" Gabriella snapped as the tears finally started falling.

"Look, I'll take you home," Troy told her. "But, I don't want you to be alone today. I'm staying with you."

"No," Gabriella said. Her voice was muffled, because she was crying into Troy's shirt again.

"Brie," Troy began and Gabriella pulled away from him.

"Troy, why can't you just let me be alone?" she asked as her tears continued to fall.

"Because, I love you," Troy shrugged. "It's as simple as that."

"I just want to be alone, please," she pleaded.

"Will you let Max check on you every half hour?" Troy asked.

"If that's what it takes for me to be alone, yes," she answered.

"Okay," Troy said, softly.

Gabriella fell back into Troy's arms and he continued to hug her. Jack came a few minutes later with a wheelchair. Troy and Max helped her to get up and sit down on the wheelchair.

"I'll take you home, Gabi," Max said.

"Thanks," Gabriella said, not catching his eye.

"Listen, guys," Troy said. "Can I have a minute with Gabriella, please?"

Everyone nodded and left the room. Troy knelt down next to Gabriella.

"I love you, Brie," he told her, softly. "Nothing is ever going to change that, okay?"

"I love you, too, Troy," Gabriella said, as Troy wiped away her falling tears.

"Don't do anything stupid," he told her and she nodded. "Then, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Gabriella shrugged. Troy sighed, tiredly. He leaned closer to her and kissed her gently. Gabriella returned the kiss with as much passion as she could. When Troy started to pull away she held onto him by wrapping her arms around his neck. They finally broke the kiss when air was essential.

"I love you," Gabriella whispered.

"I love you, too, Brie," he replied and gave her another quick kiss.

Then, he got up and pushed her wheelchair out of the room. He helped Gabriella get into Max's car and watched as Max drove away. The others stood there watching him until he was ready to leave. Finally, when Troy did not move, Jack went over to him and placed his hand on Troy's shoulder.

"Let's go home, son," he told Troy. "Gabriella will be fine."

Troy did not say anything. He could not help worrying about her. He followed Jack to his car. Jessica gave him a hug, which he did not return.

"Troy," Justin said giving his brother a hug. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Troy muttered although he knew that it was not okay.

"I want you to be my best man," Justin told him. "You're my brother."

Troy nodded, slowly. He gave Justin a small smile and then followed Angeline and Jack to Jack's car. Jack was already in the car, but, Angeline was waiting outside.

"Troy, I'm sorry," Angeline said. "I know it's hard, but, these things happen."

Troy, who did not want to talk about it, ignored her and got into the car. Jack started driving. They got onto the lane of the cemetery and Jack stopped at a red light. When Troy realized where he was, he got out of the car. Jack got out, too.

"Troy, where are you going?" he asked.

Troy just gestured towards the cemetery.

"I'll come and pick you up in half an hour," Jack said.

"Thanks," Troy said. "And, dad, can you come alone?"

Jack nodded. He watched as Troy disappeared into the cemetery and then got into his car.

Half an hour later, Jack was waiting outside the cemetery. When Troy did not appear, he went in. he found Troy lying on the ground next to his mother's grave.

"Troy, get up," Jack said taking his arm.

Troy got onto his feet and stared at Jack.

"Let's get you home," Jack said giving him a small pat on his back.

As soon as Troy got home, he went into the kitchen. He sat by the kitchen counter with a water bottle in front of him. He stared at the water bottle as if he did not know what to do with it. Angeline walked into the kitchen fifteen minutes later and he was still staring at the bottle. She walked over to him and opened the bottle for him. Troy shook his head when he saw the bottle move. He looked up at Angeline as she kept the bottle on the table again.

"Thanks," Troy muttered taking a sip from the bottle.

"Troy, I'm sorry about earlier," Angeline began. "I didn't –"

Angeline was interrupted when Troy's cell phone rang. Troy pulled it out of his pocket and saw that it was Max.

"Is Gabriella okay?" Troy asked immediately.

"She ran," Max answered. "She's going to the train station, Troy. That's what she said in the note. I think she's going to visit one of our relatives or something."

"Train station?" Troy asked.

"Yeah," Max said. "She left about a minute ago. I saw the cab pull out of the driveway and went to her room. It was empty. The note was on her bed." 

"I'll talk to you later, Max," Troy said.

Troy hung up and put the phone back into his pocket.

"Troy, what's wrong?" Angeline asked.

Troy did not reply. It was like he had not even heard her. Everything was all a blur for him as he grabbed his car keys and ran out to his car. Angeline followed Troy and got in. Troy barely acknowledged the fact that he was not alone in his car. He sped down the road towards the train station. He ran through a couple of red lights.

"Troy, slow down," Angeline exclaimed.

Surprised to hear another voice, Troy turned.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Angeline.

"Keep your eye on the road," Angeline said, alarmed.

Troy arrived at the train station and pulled into a parking spot. He did not check to see if the car was even parked properly. He ran into the station. Angeline followed.

"Gabriella!" he yelled looking through the crowd.

He pushed through the crowd until he got to the train. Then, he saw Gabriella sitting in the train by a window. She was staring at him. Troy ran towards her window.

"Brie, what are you doing?" Troy asked.

"I'm going to visit my aunt in Connecticut," Gabriella answered.

"But, why?" Troy said. "Why now? Can't you stay now and go later?" 

"Troy," Gabriella began and then stopped when she realized she had nothing to say.

"I love you, pretty girl," Troy whispered.

"I love you, too," she said, softly as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Then, why are you leaving?" he asked. "I need you, Brie."

"I have to go," she answered touching his cheek with her hand.

"Brie, don't leave me," Troy said placing his hand over hers. "Please, stay with me. I can't lose you, too, Brie."

"Troy, in case you haven't noticed, I'm losing everyone close to me here," she said as people started getting onto the train. "What if you're next? What if it's Max?" 

"Brie, I'm never going to leave you," Troy said as all the doors started closing. "Please, stay with me."

"I'll come back, Troy," Gabriella promised.

"When will you be back?" Troy asked.

"I'll be your date to prom," Gabriella told him.

"You'll be here for graduation, then?" Troy asked. "Our prom's on the night of graduation."

"I'll be here," Gabriella promised.

"Brie, will you please get out of the train and stay with me?" Troy asked, desperately.

"No," she shook her head. "Don't call me, Troy. I'll come back when I'm ready."

"I…" Troy's voice trailed away as the engine started.

"I love you, Troy," Gabriella said.

"I love you, too, pretty girl," Troy said as she removed her hand from his cheek.

He kissed her hand and let go just as the train started moving. Gabriella let the tears fall freely down her cheek. Troy watched the train as it disappeared around the corner. He turned and saw Angeline waiting for him. He walked over to her and stared at her.

"She's gone," Troy said, softly.

"I know," Angeline nodded.

With that, Angeline hugged Troy. He hugged back and the tears which he had been holding back since the doctor said that they had lost the baby began to fall down his cheeks.

"Troy!" another voice called.

Troy looked up and saw his father hurrying towards them.

"Ange called me," he said answering Troy's questioning eyes.

Jack hugged Troy, tightly.

"What did she say?" he asked. "Is she coming back?"

Troy just nodded. He pulled away from his father's hug and walked towards the exit.

"Troy, are you going to be okay?" Jack called after him.

"Don't come after me!"Troy called back.

Troy headed towards Chad's house. He rang the doorbell. Jessica opened it.

"Troy," she said in surprise. "Justin's at home. I was about to head over there myself. Do you want to come with me?"

"Actually, I'm here to see Chad," Troy said as Chad walked over to them.

"Sure," Jessica smiled. "I'll see you later."

"Jessica," Troy said as Jessica walked past him. "Tell Justin thanks for making me his best man."

Jessica nodded and gave him a smile. Then, she headed towards her car.

"Hey, man," Chad said. "Jessica told me what happened. I'm really sorry."

"You want to go out tonight?" Troy asked. "To _The Jumbo Mumbo Club_?"

"Okay," Chad said. "Let's go."

Troy and Chad went to the club together. It was crowded. Troy headed straight for the bar. He threw some cash at the bartender.

"Get me drunk," was all Troy said to him.

"Troy, you shouldn't do this," Chad said, worriedly. "Coming here was a bad idea."

"Chad," Troy said turning to face him. "Not only did Gabriella and I lose our baby, but, I lost her, too. She's gone to stay with some relative. She's gone, Chad. They're both gone. I have a right to get drunk."

"I'm calling your dad," Chad said pulling out his cell phone.

"Chad, if you're really my friend," Troy said. "Don't call my dad."

Chad hesitated before sitting down next to Troy.

An hour later, Troy was drunk. Chad, too, had taken a few drinks. He was now regretting not calling Jack. He knew he could not drive after drinking. Finally, he called Max. Troy had wandered away from the bar and was dancing with a girl in a short skirt.

"Troy," Chad said. "You're going to regret this. Remember Gabriella Montez? She's the love of your life."

"She left me, Chad!" Troy yelled.

"She's going to come back!" Chad exclaimed. "Don't do this, Troy!"

Troy pulled his hand back and threw it at Chad with so much force that when Troy's hand hit Chad's nose, Chad fell to the floor. The bartender arrived at the scene immediately. He was about to pull Troy out of the bar when Chad stopped him.

"No," Chad said. "Let him stay there. I'm going to call one of my friends. He can get him out."

"I'll give you ten minutes" the bartender said.

Chad nodded. He called Max while holding his jacket to his bleeding nose and explained what had happened. Max was there within ten minutes. Chad was sitting at the bar. His nose had stopped bleeding.

"Where is he?" Max asked and Chad pointed in Troy's direction.

"Troy!" Max yelled as both he and Chad ran towards Troy.

Troy was about to kiss the girl when Max and Chad pulled him back with great force.

"What are you doing?" Troy yelled.

"Get him out of here!" the bartender yelled from the bar.

Max grabbed Troy's arm and Chad grabbed the other. They dragged him out of the bar.

"What are you doing?" Troy asked, again.

"You're drunk, buddy," Max said, calmly. "We're taking you home."

"No!" Troy yelled.

"Troy, look at you!" Max exclaimed. "Gabriella's going to freak when she finds out you've been messing with another girl. She loves you. You said you'd never hurt her."

"Gabriella," Troy breathed, falling down onto his knees. "Brie!"

"She's going to come back, mate," Max said. "You've got to be strong. She's going to worse than you are. Maybe it was best that she left. Our aunt will take care of her. In the meantime, you should take care of yourself."

Troy stared at Max. Max and Chad grabbed Troy's arms and pulled him up again. They dragged him to Max's car.

"Don't throw up in it," Max said getting into the driver's seat.

Chad got into the passenger seat. Max drove to the Bolton house and he rang the bell. Jack opened it.

"Max, what are you doing here?" Jack asked.

"I brought Troy," Max said. "He's drunk."

Jack sighed and followed Max out to his car. The three of them managed to get Troy to the couch before he passed out completely. Max took Troy's car keys from his pocket.

"I'll bring his car back," Max told Jack.

"Can I have a ride?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, come on," Max said.

"Max, Chad," Jack said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Max said and left the house.

Max dropped Chad off at his house and went to Justin's place. He explained to Justin what was going on and then, together they went back to the club. Justin drove Troy's car back to the house and after giving Jack his key he got into Max's car and Max drove him home.


	12. Chapter 12

It was the day of graduation. Gabriella had still not returned. Troy had rarely spoken to anyone after she left. She had promised to be there for graduation, but, as Troy got ready, he could not help thinking that she had broken her promise. He got into the car with Jack and Angeline and they went to school together. Justin and Jessica met them there.

"Troy," Jack said after getting out of the car. "I know that Gabriella's not here, but, try to enjoy today. It's your last day here and you're going to want to remember it."

"Not without Gabriella," Troy answered.

"Troy!" Angeline exclaimed.

Troy turned around. Angeline was pointing in the opposite direction. Jack, Troy, Justin and Jessica turned to look together. They saw Max and Gabriella getting out of Max's car at the other end of the parking lot. Troy's face lit up when he saw Gabriella. He moved away from the group. At that moment, Max spotted Troy. He showed him to Gabriella. Gabriella turned. Her face broke into a smile when she saw Troy. Without even closing the car's door, Gabriella started running towards Troy.

Troy met Gabriella halfway there and caught her in his arms spinning her around. He put her down and then kissed her gently. Gabriella responded immediately by deepening the kiss.

"I missed you," Troy whispered when they broke apart for air.

"I missed you, too," Gabriella smiled.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"I thought you weren't coming," Troy said, touching his forehead with hers.

"I promised you that I would, didn't I?" she smiled.

"I love you, Brie," Troy whispered.

"I love you, too," Gabriella smiled.

"Don't ever leave me again," Troy said hugging her close to him.

"I won't," Gabriella promised.

Everyone walked towards them. Jack smiled and Troy grinned back. Jack had not seen Troy smile like that since Gabriella left and was relieved to know that the old Troy was back.

"Good to have you back, Gabi," Jack smiled giving her a hug.

"It's good to be back," Gabriella smiled.

"Gabriella!" another voice called and they all turned to see Chad running towards them. "I've never been happier to see you! Troy has been a mess!"

Gabriella laughed as Chad gave her a friendly hug.

"Let's go in," Jack said, taking Angeline's hand.

They all headed towards the school building. Troy started towards the school, but, Gabriella held him back by taking his hand.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Max told me about what happened at the bar," Gabriella said. "He said you were with another girl."

"Oh," Troy turned pale. "Listen, I wasn't going to hide it from you, okay? I was going to tell, but, I just saw you and –"

"Did you sleep with her?" Gabriella asked.

"No!" Troy exclaimed. "Chad and Max got me out of there way before it even got close. That's what Chad told me. I don't remember much of that night. He said that I didn't even kiss the girl. All I did was dance with her after I got drunk. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Gabriella said. "I just wanted to hear from you that nothing happened."

"Nothing happened," Troy assured her.

With linked hands, the two walked into the school together. Gabriella was greeted by hugs and squeals. Troy watched as Gabriella greeted everyone.

"My best friend and my sister," Max said. "I can't believe it."

"Well, you better start believing buddy," Troy grinned. "I'm never letting her get away from me."

"I guess that means you'll be my brother-in-law someday," Max said.

"What?" Troy looked surprised.

"Come on, man," Max grinned. "You're going to marry her."

"Yeah," Troy smiled.

"Hey, I almost forgot," Max said. "I'm bringing Alicia to prom."

"Alicia?" Troy asked.

"From the tux shop, remember?" Max asked.

"Oh, shit!" Troy exclaimed. "Dude, get Alicia to hook me up with a tux. And, I haven't even asked Gabriella, yet."

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Gabriella asked.

"Will you be my date to prom?" Troy blurted out.

Gabriella looked surprised.

"Troy, I told you even before I left," Gabriella smiled. "I'll be your date to prom."

"Oh, right," Troy said, remembering. "You have a dress?"

"Yup," Gabriella smiled. "And, I'm guessing you haven't got your tux?"

"Um…" Troy turned red.

"Don't worry, sis," Max grinned. "I'm taking him shopping right after this."

That evening, Troy rang the doorbell at Gabriella's house. He put his hands into his pockets and waited nervously. Max opened the door.

"Hey, man," Max grinned. "She'll be right down."

"Thanks," Troy said walking into the house.

The two boys stood at the foot of the stairs.

"So, where's Alicia?" Troy asked.

"I'm going to pick her up right after you guys leave," Max answered. "Where are you taking her?"

"To prom," Troy answered in surprise.

"I meant after that," he smirked.

"Oh," Troy said. "Justin's friend works at the Plaza. He hooked me up with a suite. It's free for us since it's just one night. The place is…"

Troy's voice trailed away when Gabriella appeared at the top of the stairs. She was wearing a simple spaghetti strap dress which reached just above her knees. Her hair was twisted up in a French Twist. Max patted Troy's back. He grabbed the camera and took pictures as Troy pinned a rose onto her dress.

"We'll see you at the dance, Max," Gabriella grinned.

She took Troy's arms and they walked outside together. The limo was waiting in the driveway.

"This limo is not for us to share with anyone else," Troy said. "It's for us and only for us. No Max or Chad or Taylor or Alicia this time."

"I love you," Gabriella said kissing his cheek.

Troy rubbed his cheek knowing that her lipstick was there. Gabriella helped him to get it off with a smile and they got into the limo.

Troy and Gabriella entered the gym together. They danced together almost the whole night. Troy never let go of Gabriella all throughout the night. When it was time for prom queen to be selected, Mr. Matsui announced Gabriella as the prom queen and Troy as the prom king. They shared the spotlight dance. It was almost midnight when Troy and Gabriella decided to leave.

"So, where are we going?" Gabriella asked getting into the limo.

Troy did not answer. He slid pressed a button on the remote and the screen between them and the driver went up. Then, he leaned over and kissed her gently. Then, he pulled apart and undid her hair.

"You have no idea how beautiful you look in that dress," he told her. "But, I like your hair down."

"Do you like it?" Gabriella asked, softly.

"I love it," he replied. "It makes you look…sexy."

With that, their lips were together and they were soon in a heated make out session. Troy was getting harder by the minute and Gabriella could feel her panties getting soaked.

"Troy," Gabriella moaned as he kissed her neck.

Her hands ran down his chest and went right down to the bulge in his pants. She moved onto his lap with both legs on either side of him. Her dress rode up her thighs and Troy's hands went up with it.

All of a sudden, the limo stopped. They heard the door shut.

"We're here," Troy said, adjusting his pants hurriedly.

The backseat's door opened and Troy stepped out. He held his hand out to Gabriella who took it after adjusting her dress. She stared at the huge hotel.

"How'd you afford this?" she asked.

"Justin hooked me up," Troy said. "Let's go. I don't think I can wait much longer."

Gabriella giggled and they went into the hotel. The elevator was empty. However, Troy did not do anything, because he knew that there was a camera. Justin had told him about it. They found their room and Troy opened it.

As soon as the door was shut, their lips were attached together. Gabriella's purse was thrown onto the floor. Troy's jacket was flung across the room. Gabriella began to undo the buttons on his shirt as Troy struggled to get his tie off.

"God, I missed you!" Troy said as he finally got his tie off with Gabriella's help.

"I missed you, too," Gabriella said in between kisses.

The front of Troy's shirt was open as Troy lifted Gabriella up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and felt the bulge in his pants. Troy stumbled towards the bed and they fell onto it. Gabriella was underneath Troy. Troy lay on top of her with both hands on either side of her to support his weight. They kissed heatedly. Troy kissed her neck and there, he left his mark. Gabriella started to push his shirt off his shoulders. Troy sat up and pulled it off. He tossed it to the floor. By then, Gabriella's hands were working to get his belt off. Troy's hand went all over Gabriella's dress until he found the zipper on the back. He slid it down. Gabriella sat up and pulled it off leaving her in a strapless bra and matching underwear. Troy kissed her again and she fell back onto the bed pulling him down with her. As they kissed, Gabriella's hand went down to his pants and undid the belt and button. She pushed it down and Troy helped her by kicking it off.

A few minutes later, Gabriella's underwear and Troy's boxers had joined the rest of their clothes on the floor. Troy was positioned in front of Gabriella's opening.

"I love you," he whispered to her.

Before she could reply, he was in her. Gabriella moaned at the familiar sensation. Troy started thrusting in and out of her. Gabriella met his every thrust. Soon, they both came and Troy fell onto the bed against Gabriella. He pulled out of her and rolled over so that he did not crush her. He covered their bodies with a sheet and wrapped his arms around her. They lay together on the bed, cuddled close together.

"I missed you," Troy said, softly.

"I won't leave you, again," Gabriella promised. "I'm even going to U of A with you and Max."

"I love you," Troy smiled.

"I love you, too, Troy," Gabriella replied.

They fell asleep together in each other's arms.


	13. Chapter 13

Troy woke up the next day when someone knocked on the door. He got up sleepily. There was another sharp knock on the door. Troy shook his head and pulled on his boxers and his pants hurriedly. He pulled his shirt on and went to the door buttoning it on the way. It was Justin's friend.

"Morning," he grinned at Troy. "Remember me? We met yesterday. I'm Peter."

"Yeah, I know," Troy said raking his hair with his fingers. "What's up?"

"You have to get out of here," Peter said. "You're not really out customers, but, we have some paying customers downstairs and they need the room."

"Sure," Troy said. "Give us around fifteen minutes, okay?"

"Okay," Peter shrugged. Then he smirked. "Had a good night?"

"Bloody brilliant!" Troy smirked back.

"Good," Peter said. "Now, get out."

Troy shut the door and went to Gabriella. He shook her awake.

"Hey, Brie," Troy said. "We have to go. They need the room."

Gabriella sat up sleepily. The sheet fell off her and revealed her bare breasts. Troy groaned as he felt his boxers tighten. He kissed back as she kissed her.

"We have to go," he repeated. "We have fifteen minutes to get out of here."

Gabriella sighed and got out of bed. Troy watched her get dressed.

They went home in a cab. Troy dropped Gabriella off and went to his own home then. Justin smirked at him when he walked into the house.

"What are you doing here?" Troy asked him ignoring the smirk.

"I was actually wondering if my best man would like to talk about the wedding since his girlfriend is back," Justin said.

"Oh," Troy said. "Dude, I'm so sorry about that. We'll talk tomorrow. I promise. Just, not today. I'm going over to Gabriella's place."

"Weren't you just with her?" Justin asked.

"Yeah, but, who cares?" Troy said.

Troy hurried upstairs and got dressed. Then, he ran out of the house again. He drove to Gabriella's house stopping on the way to buy some croissants for breakfast. He rang the doorbell at Gabriella's house and she opened it immediately. She had changed out of her prom dress and was wearing a pair of black shorts and a red tank top.

"Hello," Troy grinned.

He wrapped one arm around her waist and kissed her gently as he shut the door with his foot. They broke apart when they heard a groan behind them.

"Never do that again!" Max exclaimed. "Do not make out in front of me!"

"Max," Alicia rolled her eyes. "They haven't seen each other in about a month."

"Alicia," Troy smiled. "You're still here."

Alicia blushed. Troy laughed. He held up the bag of croissants.

"Who wants breakfast?" he asked.

Troy followed Gabriella to the kitchen. She got out glasses for everyone and poured orange juice for them. There were only three stools at the kitchen counter. Max and Alicia sat on two. Troy sat on the other one.

"I'll go and get a chair," Gabriella said.

She was about to move when Troy grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. He pulled her onto his lap and Max rolled his eyes.

"Are you guys going to be together all the time?" Max asked.

"Dude, you've no idea how hard it is to keep a relationship from your best friend," Troy said.

"Or, your brother," Gabriella added.

"So, we're enjoying the freedom," Troy grinned.

"When did you guys get together anyway?" Alicia asked.

"The night our mom died," Gabriella answered.

"Are you serious?" Max asked, surprised. "You've been running around behind my back since then and I never noticed."

"We were pretty good, weren't we?" Troy smiled.

"Yeah," Max admitted. "I can't believe how blind I was. If I hadn't been so blind, maybe we could have stopped all this from happening."

"All what?" Gabriella asked and Max looked uncomfortable.

"All…you know," Max said. "Everything with your baby."

Gabriella stiffened. Troy's hand went around her waist, immediately. Max winced and looked at Alicia and Troy knew that Alicia had kicked him.

"I just meant that if I had known earlier, I wouldn't have yelled at Gabi," Max said. "And, then she wouldn't have run and fallen down the stairs." 

Gabriella got out of Troy's grip and ran out of the kitchen. A few minutes later, they heard a door slam.

"You just don't know when to stop talking, do you?" Alicia snapped at Max.

Troy sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. He sat there for a few minutes without saying anything.

"I'll go and talk to her if you want," Alicia offered Troy.

"No," Troy said. "Let her be for a few minutes. Then, I'll go."

Around ten minutes later, Troy got up and went upstairs. He went into Gabriella's room. She was sitting on the bed hugging her pillow. She was not crying. She was staring at the wall.

"Hey," Troy said, softly.

3"Hi," Gabriella replied as he sat down next to her.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked taking her hand.

"I'm fine," Gabriella said. "My aunt made me realize that it wasn't meant to be. She said that we would have a baby when we were ready. When she said that, I knew that I was not ready to have a baby just yet."

Troy did not say anything. He kissed her hand and then put an arm around her. Gabriella leaned against him and they sat there in silence.

After about an hour later, they heard the front door shut and they knew that Max and Alicia had gone out. They got up and went downstairs. Max and Alicia had left some croissants left so they had breakfast, together. They sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. They both reached for the last piece of croissant at the same time and smiled at each other when their fingers touched. Troy took the piece and popped it into Gabriella's mouth. Gabriella washed the plate and glasses. She sat on the counter. Troy got up from the stool and walked closer to her so that he was standing in between her legs. He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I love you, pretty girl," he whispered.

Without waiting for a reply, he kissed her. Gabriella kissed back. Soon, they were making out heatedly. Gabriella's hands went underneath his shirt and she ran them down his chest. She slipped her hand through his boxers and wrapped her fingers around his cock. She felt it grow hard. Troy kissed her as she started pumping her hands up and down his cock. He clutched the edges of the counter as she went faster.

"Brie," he grunted as he came.

Gabriella made no move to remove her hand. She felt Troy become hard again in less than thirty seconds. Troy kissed her again. Neither one of them heard the front door open and close.

"Oh, my eyes!" they heard Max yell and they broke apart. "I'm blind!"

They looked around and saw that Max was covering his eyes with his hands. Gabriella pulled her hand out of Troy's pants quickly. She covered her face in Troy's shirt.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Max exclaimed. "Can I look now?"

"If you want to," Troy smirked and Max removed his hands.

"What the fuck were you doing?" Max repeated.

"You saw what we doing," Troy said.

"But, that doesn't mean you can do that in the kitchen," Max said. "You know that I also live here."

"But, you weren't home," Gabriella pointed out pulling away from Troy and looking at Max.

Troy chuckled and buried his face in Gabriella's hair and neck. He kissed her neck, gently and started sucking so that he could leave his mark.

"Troy," Gabriella giggled.

"Oh, boy," Max said when he realized what Troy was doing. "I'm leaving."

"Don't come back!" Gabriella called and the front door slammed shut.

Troy looked up at Gabriella and they both started laughing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again.


	14. Chapter 14

Two weeks later, Justin and Jessica's wedding took place. The ceremony was beautiful. All the girls were crying by the time it ended. Jessica's best friend, Emma, who was supposed to be Jessica's maid of honour, had twisted her leg. So, Gabriella stood in her place.

When the ceremony ended, the couple went to dance their first dance as husband and wife. Troy and Gabriella stood side by side watching them.

"They look so happy together," Gabriella smiled. "Do you think maybe one day, it'll be us having our first dance as husband and wife?"

"I know it, Brie," Troy said. "But, right now, let's have our first dance as a best man and maid of honour."

Gabriella smiled and took Troy's hand. They went onto the dance floor and Troy pulled Gabriella towards her. They danced slowly in time for the music. Neither one of them said anything.

"Did I mention that your best man's speech was awesome?" Gabriella asked when the song ended.

"Yeah, you did," Troy chuckled. "And, did I tell you how beautiful you look today?"

Gabriella giggled and rested her head against Troy's chest as another slow song began.

"What's the thing you love most about weddings?" Gabriella asked Troy.

"Open bar," Troy answered immediately.

Gabriella pulled away from Troy and looked up at him to see whether he was being serious. She hit his chest when she knew that he was just joking.

"Come on," she said.

"Okay," Troy said, with another grin. "The thing I love most about weddings is…the slutty wedding sex with the hot bridesmaids…or in this case…the gorgeous maid of honour."

"I think it's time you got what you wanted," Gabriella said with a smirk.

Gabriella walked out of the room and towards the room where all the girls had gotten dressed. Troy followed her. As soon as the door was closed and locked, their lips were also locked.

"We have to go back before anyone notices that we're gone," Gabriella said.

"Okay," Troy shrugged kissing his neck.

"So the dress stays on," Gabriella said.

Troy groaned as Gabriella pulled off her panties. The dress was not a long one. It reached to her knees. Jessica had wanted her wedding to be different. She unbuckled Troy's belt and reached into his pants. She pulled out his hard cock. Then, she pushed Troy onto a chair and sank down onto his cock. Troy kissed Gabriella again and started meeting each one of Gabriella's downward thrusts. They came together.

"You were right," Gabriella said once she caught her breath. "The slutty wedding sex is pretty amazing."

Troy grinned. They got ready to leave again. They opened the door and came face to face with Alicia and Max in a heavy make out session. Max's hand was on the door knob. It looked like he had been about to open it, but it had been locked. Gabriella gasped and covered her eyes. Max and Alicia blushed.

"Doing the slutty wedding sex thing?" Troy asked with a smirk before he led Gabriella out of the room.


	15. Chapter 15

Five years later…

Troy and Gabriella had finished college. They were still together. Jack and Angeline had got married, too and Troy was the proud uncle of a two year old girl, Katie Bolton. Jessica had got pregnant two years after the wedding. Max and Alicia were still together as well.

Two nights after returning to Albuquerque, Troy took Gabriella out to dinner. During dinner, while Gabriella was drinking her champagne, she felt something hard go into her mouth. She frowned and took it out of her mouth and gasped. She looked at Troy and he smiled at her.

"Troy, what is this?" she asked holding up the silver ring.

"That is a ring," Troy said taking it from her hand.

He dropped it into a glass of water and took it out again. He dried it by rubbing it on his coat and then got up from his chair. He knelt down onto one knee and took Gabriella's hand.

"Gabriella Montez, I love you with all my heart," he said. "Will you please do me the great honour and be my wife?"

Gabriella could not even speak. She just nodded and Troy slipped the ring onto her finger. He got up and held out his arms. Gabriella got up, too and she fell into Troy's embrace kissing him. Everyone in the restaurant started applauding. They broke the kiss and smiled at each other.

"I love you," Troy said, softly.

"I love you, too," Gabriella smiled.


	16. Epilogue

Two years later, Troy and Gabriella were at the hospital, welcoming their first child. Troy was now, not only a proud uncle, but, also a proud father of a beautiful baby girl. They were in the hospital room. Their daughter was in Gabriella's arms and Troy sat on the bed next to Gabriella with his arm around

Gabriella. There was a knock on the door and Jack entered the room, followed by Angeline, Alicia, Max, Chad, Taylor, Justin, Jessica and Katie.

"Hey," Troy smiled at them.

"Oh, she's beautiful," Angeline said looking at the baby girl who was now in Jack's arms.

"What's her name?" Max asked taking the baby from Jack.

"Isabella Maria Bolton," Gabriella answered.

Angeline took the baby from Max and Max went and hugged Gabriella.

"Mom and dad would be proud of you," he told her.

"Thanks," Gabriella smiled.

Alicia, Jessica, Chad and Taylor had a turn in holding Isabella. Katie had scrambled onto Troy's lap.

"Baby, uncle Troy," she said clapping her hands.

"Yeah, Katie," Troy smiled. "It's a baby."

Justin placed the small baby in Gabriella's arms again. Everyone left a few hours later, when it got late, leaving Troy and Gabriella alone.

"I love you, Brie," Troy told her kissing her forehead.

"I love you, too, Troy," Gabriella smiled leaning against his chest as they watched their daughter sleep.

Troy had fallen in love with his best friend's sister. He did not plan on it, but it had happened, and he knew that the no one could make him as happy as Gabriella made him feel.


End file.
